Resurrection
by EleanorKate
Summary: Post Season 4 - SPOILERS - Chloe has a birthday, Chloe has several visitors, some of whom might not be so welcome and well, resurrection probably speaks for itself ;) T rated from Chapter 16 onwards.
1. Chapter 1

Birthdays.

Chloe Jane Decker hated Birthdays.

Was it another year of each day dragging, each day the same as the other?

How many arrests had there been this year?

How many more bodies were there on the pile?

How many more lives had been wasted by senseless violence?

Just how _pointless_ was this existence exactly?

Dawn. The sun rose again just like normal, breaking through on another Los Angeles day and she was awake early. Again. Four thirty every damn morning on the dot since he left. A day of rest on Sunday perhaps; it was Sunday after all wasn't it? Oh, no not for Chloe Decker. It was as though her mind was at war with her body and how she had lived with this tension as it stuck its claws into every bone and sinew she would never know. Stumbling was perhaps the right word. Working all hours that were sent to her so she was occupied with something except thinking of what might have been; what could have been. Even though he had been there, spun around in her chair she remembered one day whilst she was distracted, work felt like a haven now. It was where she felt close to him and she craved being here. Most of the time.

Dawn. Sitting in the parking lot of the station. A dull hum of something classical on the radio playing endlessly – she had found ironically the tones of the piano calmed her now - and a breakfast burrito that was turning her stomach in knots sitting glaring at her on the passenger seat where she had put it and left it. It had been a good idea at the time, even if she was having to force herself to eat. It was worse in those moments of inoccupation when all the world around her was getting on with their lives and she was staggering and falling. If it wasn't for Trixie, well what exactly did she have left? Dan had moved on now. At least he had been honest with her about Ella and they seemed settled. She was pleased he was happy after Charlotte. She was. It was time that they all tried to make peace with the past. Trouble was, Chloe Decker had no idea where to start on this quest even almost a year on. No idea at all as she hung onto maybes.

Dawn. She'd seemed to have remembered that he told her that time moved more slowly in Hell. However bad it was for her she supposed his days were longer, nights interminable and this place he was in? Oh how she wished she could see it, then her mind would stop thinking of flames and ash, wondering if he had somewhere comfortable to sleep; what he ate. It was silly, she knew. Just one glimpse of how he lived and it might calm that niggle of the unknown. Just to hear his voice, see a smile. Just once and that black cloud on her back might lift. Perhaps it might.

Dawn. Why had she let her mother take Trixie for two weeks? Of course, yes, to stop the incessant, belligerent complaints. She wished it had been her daughter – she could justify it of an almost 12 year old - but it was her mother moaning that she never saw her only grandchild. Complaining that her daughter looked tired, ill, run down, every expression she could think of to pick at her and beat at her self esteem even more. She was struggling as it was but could she really tell her mother that she had fallen in love with the Devil himself? No that was what Linda was for. Her mother would think she needed committing. Constantly expecting her to simply hand over her daughter to a women who at best had been questionable herself. In the event, any fight left, Chloe had given up and yesterday evening she waved her daughter off.

_"It will be okay Mommy. I promise" the youngster had smiled. "I'll make sure Nana's alright"._

Chloe smiled at her daughter's words. Yes it would be alright, because Trixie would come back in two weeks. She knew when two weeks ended – it was five days after her birthday. When it started and when it ended. That goodbye had no end to it and she was stuck, floating in nothingness, painting on a face until, every Wednesday, she would see Linda and her heart would break all over again. The poor woman must have thought she had her hardest case to crack. Chloe had hoped that by now, so many weeks and months later, that she might not have to find herself driving to the therapist's office once a week, sometimes more, but it truly felt as she had lost her way back. On the outside, Detective Chloe Decker functioned as the officer that she was. It was just Chloe Decker, the human being, that had no idea where to turn.

Her excuses for her partner's absence were getting thinner by the week too. It was fine at first.

**"**_Oh, he has had to go back home. Family problems"._

_"Family problems, still going on unfortunately. Might be a while longer"._

People stopped asking one day. Even Amenediel, who would bring Charlie to see her, had found it uncomfortable with the looks and stares. If there were family problems, why was one brother here and not the other? Instead, she saw him at home and these visits had been such a comfort to her.

"He is your nephew Chloe" Linda had said one day as she held the little boy's hands as he wobbled on increasingly stronger legs. He wasn't. May never be but Chloe knew why Linda was doing it and she was truly grateful. Her only link to Lucifer who would sit on her knee and giggle in his innocence of the world. Those little hands that would touch her face and snuggle close to her chest. At least with Linda, Amenedial and Maze, they all knew the truth and could share her pain. They had been just as devastated as she had been and Maze's fury at being left behind was a picture in itself.

Now as another day opened up in front of her and with no distractions at home, Chloe got out of the car, launched the frankly disgusting looking burrito in the nearest trash can and headed to the door.

As she made her way towards her desk she had forgotten about this station 'tradition' and the moment she saw the cacophony of pink balloons, banners, sparkles and tinsel that decorated her desk, her heart sank. Trixie would have loved it. She, however, felt her stomach flip again. Maybe she should have eaten that burrito. Actually, no. It might have made an unceremonious revisit as her insides lurched at the sight and thought of it. There was just dollar-a-time-tat everywhere, but deep down, she was still grateful people cared.

A banner across the edge of her desk screamed 'Happy Birthday' in every loud colour under the sun and a cup of coffee was sitting on a file. That was Dan. It was always Dan now that topped up her coffee supply and he was walking across.

"Happy Early Birthday!" he offered going to hug her but stopping when was met with a tired scowl. "Come on Chlo, you know the place by now. Two weeks of sitting at your desk surrounding by an incessant reminder of just how old we are all getting..." he joked until he saw her face again. "Yes, okay, I see your point".

He sat down opposite her as she flipped on her computer. Dan was not soft, not stupid enough to see his ex-wife was struggling since Lucifer left. Part of him had been angry when Maze had brought her home, shaking and shivering from a night asleep on the balcony of the penthouse, but as time had moved on Dan had come to realise the impact that Lucifer had had on their lives, good or bad. He had never known how close Chloe had been to him but he even had to admit he missed some of the quips and the ridiculousness that followed the former owner of Lux around. Still though, he did not trust him and a devilish corner resolved that he was glad he was gone. He _seemed_ to be gone, he corrected himself. He might just turn up again like those times before. The proverbial bad penny.

"So anything new today?" Chloe asked, desperate to get on. She pulled her hair behind her ears, quickly wrapping it up into a messy bun and she saw him nod.

"There's been a fire just off the San Diego Freeway. The gatehouse to the cemetary went up in flames about 1 am. Petrol bomb they think".

"That's nothing to do with us" she interrupted, taking a sip of still hot coffee. That was another thing. A short fuse, except it rolled off Dan's shoulders like water. He knew she could get snippy when she was worried. He had seen it too many times already, long long before Lucifer so it went in one ear and out of the other.

"It is our business when there was a body inside the gatehouse that had an ice axe in the back of its neck" Dan replied bluntly.

"Ah" she replied, a half smile on her face, wrapping her hands around the coffee cup.

"We can't go down until the Fire Service have secured the building; made it safe", he replied. They would get the nod soon enough. He shifted forward in his seat, managing to avoid the banner against his knee. "So have you decided what you are doing for your birthday?"

"Nothing", Chloe replied almost as though it was stupid question. No, it was an incredibly stupid question.

"Its not every day you creep closer to 40...It'll be the big one soon enough" he smiled, teasing her and trying to raise her mood. Her face was still like thunder but he pressed on. "You have to do something Chlo".

"You sound like Trixie" she noted. "No I don't. I don't have to do anything". It was just another day after all. Night would still roll into daylight and back again. It was still another day feeling hollow.

"A word of warning then" he whispered, taking a glance around. "Ella mentioned a night out. You, her, Linda". Chloe sighed and she slumped back in her chair. Her face was crushed into a frown. "I'm just warning you so you can think up something to excuse yourself", he said.

"I can't. I can't use work. Ella would know. Trixie is with Mom". She paused for a second. "I can't say no. They are my friends after all and I know..."She stopped and breathed. "I know they are doing just to try to cheer me up but Dan, I really don't know if I can do it".

"What harm will it do?" he asked. "One night out. A few hours. You might enjoy it" he said, a colleague handing a file to him as they walked past.

"It won't do any 'harm' Dan!" she spat,keeping her voice low as the station was starting to fill up for the day. "I just...I just don't have the energy or the will to parade around clubs with all that noise and fuss around me." _I'm not worth it, surely you of all people can see that? I don't even want to go to a restaurant or even the cinema. Even sitting in silence; everything is too much. Even a few people at home seemed out of the question.  
_

"Well think about it or think of an excuse quick!" he offered, the file open in his hands that he had briefly scanned. "Come on. Fire Service are all fixed up. Job to do".

Chloe got up and left her pink sparkly home behind for a few hours of distractions. She hoped.


	2. Chapter 2

By day four of her bubblegum pink residency, Chloe had managed to pop a couple of the balloons 'accidentally' and a few had started to deflate. Lucifer would have been making jokes about it, something indecent no doubt involving the words 'wrinkly' and 'testicles'. As she descended the stairs, a smile and a slight blush crossed her face, until it hit her again when she saw the state of her desk. No more little quips, no more breathing down her neck (quite literally) and yes, she missed him terribly. Her insides still felt cavernous, her feet heavy and...

Getting to the bottom for the stairs, she sighed and closed her eyes. As soon as she opened them again she saw the shoulder of someone and whoever it was they were sitting at her desk, their back to her. She frowned and walked, seeing clearly now it was a man in a black suit. All of a sudden her heart flew from her throat and her feet stopped moving as they were glued to the floor.

"Lucifer?" she whispered, hoping he heard her and it would turn around and she would fly across the room to his arms, hugging him, crying and telling him again that yes she loved him. The figure in fact did turn and no, it wasn't Lucifer. It was just her imagination playing evil tricks on her.

As she walked across, whoever this was though stood up and proffered his hand. "Miss Decker?"

"Yes, that's me" she replied, taking up the man's hand. Now looking he wasn't as tall as Lucifer, but his hair was just as dark, perhaps a little longer and he was not quite as broad of shoulder, but seeing his face, whilst he might have had those deep brown eyes, her overactive imagination was put firmly in its place.

"I wonder if I may speak with you privately about something. I have some information that might assist you with a case. The cemetery incident?" the man offered her. Chloe nodded dumbly, sharing a look to Dan who has passed by that second. It was clear he had heard the question.

"Chlo, want me to come in with you?" he asked, eyeing up the stranger. He knew his wife could handle herself, but despite all their past, the divorce, the fact he was now dating her friend, he still felt far too protective of the mother of his child.

"No" she replied brightly. "It's fine Dan, don't worry". It was about the petrol bomb. She put her bag and coat down and escorted the man into an interview room.

He was first to speak as they sat down. "Forgive me Miss Decker. I am afraid I conspired to speak with you under a pretence. A ruse". He saw Chloe squint at him, immediately hackles rising. "It is nothing to be alarmed about I promise you" he continued, putting his hands up in surrender. "I did not introduce myself. My name is Raphie. I..." He could see she had a confused look on her face as well as that tenseness in her shoulders; the threat he wondered if he presented. "Do you know who I am now?" Chloe shook her head. Now she was disturbed and wishing she had taken Dan upon his offer. Was she meant to know this man? "I am Raphie...Raphael. We have a mutual..." He paused in the search for the right world "Friend. We have a mutual friend. Two actually when I think about it".

"Oh?" She was still fearful but there seemed to be a kindness in this man's eyes that calmed the immediate spike of adreneline that hit her.

"Yes, Miss Decker. My brothers" he offered.

Chloe's eyes widened and fighting herself, she felt tears form, stinging and she blinked quickly, feeling one slide down her cheek and land in a pool on the table. "You are Lucifer's brother? No wonder I thought you were him..." Her voice faded to nothingness and she suddenly felt cold, shivering, _weak_. The colour had drained from her face, he could see that. He knew she might react like that but he had to see her. He did not want to come to her place of work, but to her home might just frighten her even more and that was the last thing he wanted.

Raphael nodded, a serene smile playing across his lips. "I am another brother".

"How...how many of them are you?" she asked, curious Lucifer had never actually told her.

"8" he replied.

"Wow!" Chloe responded, feeling her heart start to race even more and it thumped against her ribs. Adreneline shot through her body again and she could feel the muscles in her legs start to shake. "Have you, have you seen him, spoke to him recently?" She was desperate for some news and the question fell from her lips like a fast flowing stream. She had no idea how they all might communicate. There were hardly celestial e-mails. Did Hell have an internet connection? All kinds insane questions suddenly assaulted her.

Raphael shook his head. "No" he responded. "Father sent me here to well, collect an artefact of his so I only plan to be here for a few days at best, but I thought I may see Luci...Samael whilst I was here. Except I heard he has gone".

"Yes" Chloe replied. She almost choked on the word and gestured to the floor. "Almost a year ago now".

"Oh, yes. I had heard rumblings of unrest, 'down there' as you put it. Father told me" he noted, slightly perturbed that his father had not shared that Lucifer was no longer on 'vacation'. He had hoped that he might be able to build some bridges but this was clearly not the time."I had heard of commotions in Hell, but I did not realise Samael had returned. It surprises me, it truly does. He has grown it seems to go back there".

"He has" she choked. "How did you find me? How did you know about me?"

"Father knows everything Miss Decker" Raphael responded; that ethereal look on his face once more. "Since Amenediel decided that earthly life was one for him, Father has been keeping somewhat of a closer eye on him particularly".

"Oh?" Her voice was high.

"Hmmm" Raphael replied. Against his better nature he carried on. "Father is not... he is not pleased about the half celestial child at all. He is concerned that Amenediel was so careless to leave a footprint on the earth's plane and risk the woman and the child, but he forgives my brother for it. It is not as though it has not happened before..." She smiled as she realised what he was saying. She already knew Amenediel had had his powers taken away, but truly did not seem to care. "Father wished me to make contact with him too, to try to understand".

"So was that the only reason you came here?" she asked. He could collect this 'artefact', see Amenediel, and go with nobody knowing anything about it. He did not need to turn up at the police station to see her.

"I wanted to meet you" Raphael replied. His visit was simple and so very genuine. He had hoped the Miracle Child would lead him to Samael, or at least help him in his side quest. Clearly this time he was too late.

"You did?" Chloe was surprised at best.

"Hmmmm" Raphael responded. "I want to meet my Father's miracle".

"You did?" she repeated, it passing her completely by that she was referred to as 'God's miracle'. She was too fascinated by this being in front of her. He exuded peace from every aspect of his body, serenity and she was seeing more of Lucifer as each second passed.

"and to...well, I did want to find Samael too. At least to see him, even at a distance" he continued. His voice sounded sad.

"You are the healer", Chloe responded. She suddenly remembered it now from that awful time in Rome.

"I am. Spiritually, physically. I am your go-to angel" he replied, laughing. It was easier now the human knew and seemed willing to learn. Was that was Lucifer learnt? Chloe laughed along with him. She trusted him immediately. "With Amenadiel gone from Heaven, Father needed an advisor. He chose me and well, so much harm can come to a world. He did think of sending our brother Michael, but feared it would cause harm. Feared Michael would..." he stopped, realising he had said too much.

"Feared Michael would?" Chloe asked, her skin prickling with an unwanted hesitency and apprehension.

Raphael pressed his lips together. "Feared Michael would come to find you..." She was about to speak when he raised his hand to stop her. "He is not dangerous, not exactly" Raphael continued. "Michael, he and Samael were close at one point. Samael was... _powerful_...they fell into conflict and well, Samael fell." It was to put in language you would understand. "Michael's jealousy of Samael might be his downfall, or come uppance, one day". He shifted across and took up her hands. She immediately felt such a wealth of peace infuse every aspect of her being. It was almost as though a stream of the brightest, most blinding light ran from his fingertips into hers and reached through every inch of her body. "I do appreciate how difficult all of this is to understand Miss Decker. How difficult it is to comprehend that all you read as a child is a version of the truth and that angels exist".

"No, no, it's fine", she stuttered. Her body felt infused with such wellness. "What are you here to collect?"

Raphael smiled. "I'm afraid that it is...how do you say it? Classified?"

Chloe nodded. She genuinely hadn't been fishing for information. She was trying to make conversation. "Thank you for coming to see me". Just by his presence she had felt a weight lift from her chest. Minutes later she said goodbye to him and for the first time in a long time she felt a lightness about her shoulders as she sat back at her desk. Her head felt clearer, her heart less heavy and there were shreds of positivity settling in her stomach. He was a healer. Maybe he had been sent deliberately. Could Lucifer have sent him? No, now she was being silly. He said that they hadn't spoken.

As she pondered the thought, she saw Ella arrive at the side of her desk. "Who was that that came in before to see you? He was whoa...!" She fanned herself with a hand and it made Chloe smile. She wasn't going to tell her exactly who Raphael was.

"Just a witness, for the petrol bomb" Chloe lied. If anyone had overheard them before, that was his pretence in being here. Chloe could simply say that his 'evidence' was not really of help and she had dimissed it and nobody would ask.

"Well tell him he can comeback any time, an...y...time!" Ella exclaimed, looking back to see if she could catch a glimpse of him as he left.

"Ella!" Chloe replied, actually a touch horrified. "You are dating my ex-husband remember?"

Ella simply shrugged her shoulders. "A girl can look". She smiled at Chloe. "Actually I wanted to speak to you. Now I know its your birthday soon..."

"No". Despite Raphael's visit and for the first time in a long time that she did not feel on the verge of tears at every second of the day, she still did not want to be parading all over town for another birthday.

"Hear me out girl" she replied, putting her hand up to stop the complaint and perching on the edge of the desk. "I was thinking as Trixie is with your Mom and Dan is working, you, me and Linda have a_ very_ quiet meal out somewhere. Perhaps go to Bookers".

"It's expensive". It was the only protest that Chloe could raise. She had heard about the rave reviews and it was only a block and a half away from Lux. Not that she had been there recently but she had passed that restaurant too many times already. To a degree though she breathed a sigh of relief that she had not mentioned Lux or, well, any other club or bar at all.

"I know it is, but its your birthday and you deserve it" Ella pleaded. She missed Lucifer just as much Chloe did, or so she thought.

"Are you going to let me say no?" Chloe asked sitting back in her chair, utterly exasperated. She was not going to win, Dan had already warned her of that and she knew it in her heart anyways. She realised that now. Linda would be the next one ganging up on her.

"No" Ella responded with a firm smile. She wasn't going to let her know they had already made a reservation last week.

Chloe sighed. "Alright. If you are going give some peace, I agree!"

Ella whooped with joy. "You are not going to regret this Decker!" she exclaimed enveloping her in a hug. "Thursday. Be ready to be collected at 6!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Chloe you have to" Linda urged, her grip on the other woman's waist becoming tighter as the officer hesitated.

"Yes come on Decker", Ella pressed although her voice was encouraging. "You want to see what Maze has done with the place don't you?"

They were standing opposite Lux, across the street and it was gone ten o'clock at night. The meal had been quiet, just as Ella promised, and they had talked of going on somewhere except Chloe did not expect it to be here in particular. A tentative suggestion had been had that they go in, but one of the three was very reluctant.

Linda could see her friends hands were shaking. "Chloe" she said, carefully resting her palm on her arm. Her tone was soothing, calm and collected, but even Linda had that slight flutter in her stomach if only out of worry for her friend and indeed, patient. She had coached many a patient through grief before, through loss, but for reasons presently unclear to her, this particular patient's loss seem to stretch much deeper than normal. She had wondered rather than a simple – well relatively simple – case of mourning might instead be something diagnosable.

_'If he was dead I could grieve' she had said yesterday, tears pouring down her face. 'I could have a place to go, somewhere to talk to him, just to sit quietly and reflect, but he's not dead. He's out there in some wilderness that I don't understand'. _

If anything these last few weeks Chloe seemed to Linda to have been deteriorating. Some days were better than others and PTSD had crossed her mind. Perhaps it was with the anniversary coming up.

"We have spoken about this. Only yesterday we spoke that its' time to take steps to move forward. Small steps and you agreed with me", Linda pleaded. Chloe felt the hand on her arm tighten.

"I know" Chloe replied. _This isn't a small step though; this is beyond enormous._ Carefully she raised her eyes up the facade of Lux, following the stories as each one passed. The club was still open. Maze had made sure of that and with the help of its staff and indeed the patrons, she hoped he would be pleased at what they had done. It was successful and money poured into its doors and his bank account. It was the last thing the demon could do for him as she was abandoned on earth without him, even if she still harboured a deeply buried anger. The day she got her hands on him...

Chloe felt Ella's arm go around her waist from her other side. "Come on Chloe. It will help us all". Chloe's eyes were still staring up at the building, more specifically now the level of the penthouse. It was in darkness. Usually it was bathed in light. _Light in every form._ "How about we go in?" Ella continued, seeing a nod from Linda that she should go on. "We have one drink and if you are uncomfortable we find somewhere else to go or even we say that's it for the night? Yes? Maze will understand". She didn't say Maze was already in on the plan and was expecting them.

Linda nodded. "As your therapist" she started, putting on her work hat for a moment, "I recommend you do. It will help in your long term healing". _ Healing_. The fear she had. Yes, Chloe understood that. She closed her eyes, trying to claw back that feeling that infused her body when Raphael held her hands and for a second, she felt as though her blood was almost glowing with energy. She opened her eyes, scanning the crowd. Maybe he was nearby. Maybe he was keeping a closer eye on her that he made out. Chloe was about to speak when she looked down and saw one of the bouncers cross the street towards them.

"Miss Decker!" he said stepping forward, waving. The man was three times the size of her, wide as next week and wearing the sweetest smile she had seen in a while.

"Hello Jake", she said, his joy at seeing her catching as the two other women shared a knowing smile behind Chloe's back. He was in on it and had been waiting too, just like Maze.

"It is such a pleasure to see you again. All the boys have missed you. Are you coming in?" he asked, gesturing back over the street. She still had her privileges it seems and she nodded and now with both women's arms around her waist he swept them past the long, long queue and into the building.

The noise in Lux was immense. She had seen it quiet, seen it heaving with bodies but tonight was something else. The floor was positively vibrating, lights dancing over every surface and Chloe felt herself being pulled down the stairs towards the bar. Normally she was brave, sometimes stupidly so but brave nonetheless. Maybe she was mad coming back here. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she felt dizzy as the music swelled around her and it was perhaps only with Linda and Ella's help that her legs did not go out from underneath her as she was propelled to the bar.

"Decker..." Maze acknowledged her, pushing three green coloured glasses of something or other towards her guests. It didn't register how the drinks were suddenly there for them.

"Maze, thank you" Linda answered for her. "It's full in here!"

"The magic of well...me!" Maze responded, eyes wide. "That end booth is yours" she continued, gesturing to a quieter part of Lux. "Hey, Decker! Anyone home?" She had to raise her voice over the noise and knocked on Chloe's foreheard with her knuckles.

"Yeah" Chloe responded. "Thanks Maze". She felt so disconnected and all she wanted to do was run. It was though her brain had slowed down a gear in the walk from outside and the temptation to turn on her heels had not left her. Instead she was almost pulled across the dance floor to the booth.

To her surprise, hidden away there in darkness, Chloe began to relax. Perhaps it also what was in this green concoction that kept arriving at their table. Whatever was in it, she liked it and the black cloud began to lift again. Nature, however, was calling and she went to get up.

"Excuse me" Linda said, putting her hand on Chloe's arm. "Where do you think you are going?"

"I am only going to the bathroom. I don't need babysitting." It came out harsher than she intended. "I'll be fine. If I'm not back in five minutes you have my permission to set Maze on me".

At this point she was still relatively steady on her feet and headed towards the bathroom. A quick visit later she moved back towards the main lounge but then she saw the lift. She still knew the code to get to the penthouse floor and she found herself punching the number in as the need overcame her. The lift was moving before her brain could start to tick her off too.

As the lift smoothly ground to halt, her feet took her out of the doors. The place was immaculate and she knew it was down to Maze. No sheets covered the furniture this time, the bar was well stocked and the plants healthy and green. It was as though he had never left. For a split second her hand flexed towards picking up one of the crystal cut glasses underneath his collection of fine wines and that whiskey he would drink that used to scorch her throat. Her hand was an inch away from one of the bottles, but she refrained. He would want it when he came back.

Avoiding the piano which was polished to its height she stepped out onto the balcony. Even when she has secretly been up here before, she always hesitated in standing out there. It was the place that Maze had found her, curled in a heap the morning after it happened. She and Lucifer had not turned up for work and Maze had been sent to hunt her bounty by Dan before the Lieutenant found his workers were missing. She half expected to find them in bed together. Instead she found Chloe, almost with hypothermia, curled up on a lounger on the balcony still in yesterday's clothes and incoherent with grief.

Chloe spun around when she heard the lift bell again. "Hey Decker!" Maze shouted, hands on hips and every so slightly angry. "You've had your five minutes!"

"I'm sorry" Chloe responded. She should have realised that Linda was being serious. "I know. I needed a few minutes more".

The demon stalked across and stood beside her on the balcony, arms folded across her middle. For a good few moments they settled into silence, listening to the noise of the city so far below. Car horns, police sirens, the gentle rush of the breeze as it circled around them. Despite the fact she was actually trespassing, coming up to the penthouse without permission, Maze knew why. "Its a year next week", she muttered, eyes staring up at the vast star-filled sky.

"I know". Chloe sounded like a broken record but it was the way it was.

Maze thought for a second. "He probably thinks you humans are all are dead by now". Her tone was harsh, blunt, but there was no real other way to say it.

_"Thanks Maze" _her companion replied sarcastically, folding her arms herself too. A cool wind suddenly twisted around her, moving her hair. It reminded her too much of that last sight of him as he left. The rush of his wings caressing her face. She dropped her arms again, fearful of tears that fuelled with alcohol would do her mental state no good at all.

"I am being serious" the demon replied. It was something she had thought about a lot. What incentive did he have to come back? Time was different. Who was to say he would not come back different too? Even more scarred? Maze had no clue of their declarations of love and Chloe had not told a soul, not even Linda. "He might think there is no point in coming back. Its not as though Amenediel is any help to any of us any more since the half child arrived on the scene". Chloe sighed. Maybe if she saw Raphael again. Could she ask him to help find him? Why had she not thought of that before when he was at the station? For a moment she wondered if she should tell Maze of her visitor but decided against it. What purpose would it achieve? "If I could go down there, even now, I would drag his sorry ass back up here without a second thought". She shifted from one foot to the next. Given the word she would be off, Chloe had no doubt about that. His family were here; not a bunch of paedophiles, murderers, drug dealers...

"So would I" Chloe responded. She looked sideways towards Maze."Can you not... find a way?" She had asked the question before but it was worth it again.

Maze shook her head. "I can't come back on my own and if I can't come back I can't keep this place for him when _he_ comes back. I should be with him but the best I can do for him is do what he wants here". Maze still believed, even if it was unfathomable at times that he would come back for them.

"Look after us. Be loyal to us. Him too" Chloe replied quietly as she heard the distant sound of an ambulance; the lights of the city still glinting below them. Life moving on and she wanted to scream and shout at every single one of them for having the audacity to live whilst she was stuck in this endless vicious circle that she called her existence.

"Yes" Maze responded. After her anger had dissipated a little at his sudden absence without word it was the only way she knew how to fight for him. "Come back downstairs", the demon continued, putting an arm around Chloe's shoulders. "There's enough Champagne downstairs, on the house, that your weak pathetic human system can tolerate".

Chloe sighed. Maybe she should just go and get drunk. It was either or go home and cry in her pillow again.

"Come on Decker" Maze encouraged. "Let go!" With that she was dragged back downstairs to Lux.

Yes, maybe she would just get drunk instead.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Warning for an F bomb and associated swears, mention of PTSD, nervous breakdown, overuse of alcohol and visual/auditory hallucinations (yeah, I covered a lot in this chapter...)  
_**

**_Now read on ;)_**

Despite everything that had happened, now the evening was over, Chloe was glad she had been dragged out to celebrate her birthday.

The noise in Lux (once Maze had delivered her back to her keepers) drowned out the nagging, the champagne had dulled her anxiety and as she waved off the cab that held her compatriots she smiled, stumbling slightly on her heels. Perhaps she was more inebriated that she originally thought. Her ankles were killing her but she supposed it served her right for wearing almost five inch heels. It had taken concentration too to put the key in the lock but she managed, very glad that Trixie was with her Mom. She was in not fit state to parent tonight it seemed. In fact she was not sure she could get herself into the shower and bed at this rate.

Closing the front door she slumped against it for a moment, taking one foot off the floor, turning her ankle around and then the other to relieve the pressure. She breathed heavily and shunted herself off the wooden surface and into the house.

Her hand slapped against the wall where the light switch was and she paused wondering why the house was still in darkness. Focussing carefully she realised she had missed the switch by a good few inches. Chloe stood up straight and shook her head, taking step back and pushed it with a finger, making sure. The whole house lit up once more. "Better" she mumbled to herself.

As she walked, she suddenly stumbled again, almost bouncing off the breakfast bar as she went past. The alcohol, the sudden quiet and the temperature change of that walk from the cab hit her like a freight train and the place started spinning. "Oh, God..." she remarked, steadying herself now on the back of the sofa. She could barely focus on one foot in front of the other. "Why did I do it?" she whispered to herself. She wobbled again, her ankle almost going over. "Shit". Her hand thumped onto the sofa again to steady herself before she breathed in and out, in and out, in and out. Underneath the stupor she was sure she heard a door open.

Quickly looking behind her the front door was closed. "Stop being silly" she whispered to herself. "Just walk, get some water, shower, go to bed".

Her eyes widened as she heard a creak and, frozen to the spot, she went for the gun at her hip that was not there. "Fucking Jesus...why now?" she breathed.

Maybe it was the wind. _It's not windy!_ Maybe an animal outside then. Yes, Decker. Perhaps it was an animal. Was it?! Yes, no it was. Must be. She had shut – locked - the back door hours ago before she left. Had she!? Damn. She genuinely had no clue if she had or hadn't. Carefully, well incredibly gingerly, she tottered along on her heels, dumping her bag on the dining table with an unceremonious thump.

"Hello?!" Her voice sounded croaky to her own ears from being in the smoky club for hours. "Is there anybody there?"

She spun around sure she had heard a scratch. Maybe it was a rat. She could handle a rat, maybe even a couple of them even in her drunken state.

There were two footsteps and another creak. Two distinct footsteps and they were not her own. She was stock still. The fact that she had to look down at her own feet and check ought to have been an indicator of just how drunk she actually was. "Hello?" she said, quieter this time. Another two footsteps; heavier this time and they sounded as though they were on the stairs. Trixie was back, she began to convince herself. Mom at worst. Yes, Mom or Trixie just back early wondering if _she_ was the intruder. Then she remembered. Trixie had sent her a good night text hours ago saying she was going to bed whilst Chloe was still sober enough to wish her baby 'sweet dreams'. They were still in Sacramento.

Chloe straightened her shoulders and was prepared to kick off her shoes. She'd seen a woman stab a demon in the eye with a stiletto before. If it worked on a demon it would work on a common or garden thief. She bent down and the room swayed again. Or as was it her? Just as she got hold of one heel there were another two steps and she saw the feet of this person, standing on the bottom step. He or she - no it was definitely mans pair of bare feet! Bare feet?! Dreaming...hallucinating from some kind of alcohol induced psychosis more like. She would regret taking up Maze's offer of Lux's champagne in the morning. Actually, no she was wholeheartedly regretting it now. If he was a burglar, or worse, what if he attacked her? She had no way of defending herself, alone in the house. He was wearing black she noticed absently. She straightened up again, as though time was moving immeasurably slowly as the blood thundered in her ears.

Before she could focus she heard the person say something that sounded like the start of her name or it could have been a cough.

Blinking quickly she saw the figure still on the step but grazed and bruised knuckles led to hands gripping the doorway to keep himself upright. The figure was wobbling as though he was going to fall. "Chl..." The voice was stronger this time and for the second time in not too many days her heart leapt from her mouth.

"Lucifer?" Her voice almost failed her.

He raised his head, blinking against the lights in her house. "Just me", he replied, going to take a step and she could see he was falling. She would never be able to take his weight but moving forward, no longer caring about high heels, she just caught him. A violent pain shot though her hip as they crashed to the wooden floor.

She was still drunk. She had just fallen over in these stupid shoes and there was nobody there. Of course there wasn't. Why did she do this to herself? Every time, every time she was alone, unoccupied it started again. She'd be sober in the morning when the alcohol had stopped messing with her mind and nursing a hangover that would end all hangovers. It would be fine though. She was imagining it. It was fine. He wasn't there and she had just fallen over. Of course she had in her uselessness.

For thirty seconds or so, as she lay almost face down on the floor, Chloe closed her eyes to stop the room spinning even more. Even with the volume of alcohol in her blood it failed to numb the pain in her hip and the weight on her shoulders at 'seeing' him. Sitting up, she took hold of the heel of one her shoes and dragged it off. "Stupid, damn, fucking, bastard things..." With a struggle she launched it across the room, missing that photograph of her, Trixie and Dan that always stayed on the coffee table by an inch. She was crying now. In the fall and the fight with her shoe, her hair had fallen from its clips but she did not care. The point of it was what exactly? Suddenly, huge, wrenching sobs overtook her whole body, as she took hold of the other shoe and did the same thing. It bounced off the back of the sofa and skittered across the floor almost back to her. She went to kick it and missed.

"I give up" she mumbled to herself, noting the deep red lines that ran over her feet from where the shoes had pinched and rubbed. With a struggle she sat up further, shuffling slightly so she had access to rub her skin. "Never again", she cried, forcing away the tears. It was almost as though this was the last straw. "Every time, I mess up. Every time, I just screw it up and its always my fault". Her eyes closed for a moment as sudden sleep threatened to engulf her. She was so tired. Tired of work, tired of every day, tired of life, tired of... missing him. Linda was right. It was time to let go and once she accepted that the mores the better. She needed to move on for Trixie's sake. Even the little one knew something was wrong with Mommy but there was no way of explaining it to her even if she tried. At times she couldn't believe she had given life to such a smart little creature even if she was incapable of holding onto her marriage. She was pleased for Dan and Ella, genuinely so, except all she had done was move head first into a brick wall. A devil-shaped brick wall and she could not climb over him. Chloe giggled for a second through the tears. If she'd had said that around him he'd just make lewd remarks and probably would have invited her to try. She would have taken up his offer too. Still would. He talked so much trash about his 'prowess' but most of LA could probably tell her otherwise. Maybe it was a good thing she never got the chance. How would she have lived up to that? Every relationship she'd had had been fairly meaningless until Dan, but the Devil even if he was the owner of the most exclusive club in town? Really?

Chloe kicked out at the shoe again in frustration; this time making contact and it flew across the room, almost hitting the front door. "Linda is right" she muttered again, pressing her fingers to her eyes. She had taken a sneaky peak at her notes yesterday, knowing she shouldn't but the phrases _'?PTSD?'_ and _'?medication?_' she could not miss. She didn't believe in pills and potions but talking was not helping. Chloe took a deep breath, forcing air out of her lungs as she sat up straight. "What am I doing?" she asked herself. "Falling in love with the Devil? Thinking of _actually having sex_ with Satan?" There was still a tiny part of her that simply did not understand all this business of celestial creatures, Satan walking the earth, angels, but sleeping with one of them too?...Harshly, she rubbed her palm across her face, streaking what was left of her mascara everywhere as it joined the darkness under her eyes that layers of concealer and foundation could not cover up no matter how hard she tried.

Eyes still closed to block out, well everything, she breathed in again and the smell of burning hit her nostrils. She coughed a little, her head starting to hurt. It was probably just the smell of smoke on her clothes from Lux as she moved. She brushed the material of the deep blue dress she was wearing and caught a brief noseful of it again. "Horrible habit" she whispered. "Don't know why you don't just ban it in there". She paused. "Not that you can right now". Chloe sighed and shook her head, more hair falling over her face. "And now I am talking to you. Excellent! Wonderful!" she exclaimed. She needed to get off the floor and into the shower quick smart, out of these clothes and into bed but for this very moment, she simply had no strength.

Willing that feeling again that she had been able to conjure up of Raphael holding her hands, flexing her fingers waiting for that infusion of health and life and that she so desperately needed again. No matter how much her senses seem to have been dulled by the sheer volume of alcohol she had consumed, she was sure she could feel his fingertips touching hers. Ever so gently, yes, the slightest sensation of movement of her hands being enveloped in warmth of another being. As she breathed in and out, lungs filling with welcome oxygen, the sensation grew and grew, filtering up from her hands, wrists, elbows...Another waft of burning caused her to cough and the feeling dissipated again lingering only at the outer reaches of her body, just about hanging onto the pads of her fingertips. It felt so real though. Maybe that was his power and she needed to grab hold of it with all her strength.

Her eyes still closed, she waited. _"Please, Raphael"_ fell from her lips in the barest whisper. _"Just once"._ Her voice was almost in prayer state. _"Just let me sense it properly and I won't ask again"._

Sure enough, there was a stronger grip on her fingers and she smiled, breathing in, grasping hold, hanging onto him as much as she could as the sensation grew and grew. Her head began to swim again, but it was wonderful, glorious, uplifting, _heaven sent_. For a minute she was lost until that burning smell clouded her again and she coughed, losing her concentration to the point the brightness dimmed a little. _"Come back, please come back" _she pleaded, tears falling down her cheeks once more. "Come back", she whispered again. "I know I said just once, Raphael, but please...".

There was a second of silence and the grip on her hand began to feel real again and she smiled. _"You came back for__ me"._

This time the voice in her head was even stronger this time, but equally just as familiar in its torment. "Detective, open your eyes..."

"No" she responded shaking her head, starting to cry in earnest again. "No". If she did the voice that she longed to hear would be gone again. She could hold onto him this way in her imagination.

"_Please_, open your eyes". The voice was louder and the grip on her hand suddenly tightened, too much for it just to be a fantasy and her heart began to skip. Maybe this was it. Maybe this was the last straw and she was breaking for the final time.

"No..." she cried, feeling the hold on her hands retreat again and she swallowed as she shoulders slumped and this weakness shrouded her again. She flinched as she felt a palm touched her cheek, a thumb brushing away the tears that continued to bleed from her eyes. She was falling, breaking, shattering into pieces and it was obvious that this was the end. This was too real as the voice had taken over; the sensations too much and she was flying into her own personal oblivion.

_"Detective, listen to me, open your eyes, please"_

She shook her head. Even words had left her now as she spiralled in to the depths of such sheer blackness. She felt the pressure of a thumb just by the corner of her eye, pushing slightly and it forced her eyelids to flicker open and she saw him as plain as day. Now she knew it was over. Now she knew she needed help.

"Please no, Lucifer". Her voice cracked as he moved to sit up, her hearing deep in the recesses of her failing mind as he shifted across the wooden floor. Chloe clamped her eyes closed again. _That smell of burning._ "If I look, you'll go."

"No I won't" he replied. "Look at me... Open your eyes, _please._ I came back for you, Chloe. _ I'm here_".


	5. Chapter 5

He could see she was shaking as a wall of panic hit her, smacking her in the face.

"Are you...?" she stammered, not wanting to touch him less she caused her vision to disappear.

"I'm here" he responded quietly, ducking to try to catch her eye. "I'm not your imagination".

"I thought I was hallucinating. I kept hearing your voice". She was still panicking, her voice shaking as her eyes darted all over his face, chest, hands anywhere that looked solid, life-like, real, _anything._

"I promise you" Lucifer said, holding tighter onto her hand and it focussed her. "You are not dreaming or hallucinating or imagining anything". She looked bedraggled, red eyed and clearly drunk, but to Lucifer it was as though the most ethereal being had tried to catch him as he crashed to the floor. No, she had caught him. Ten times over.

Chloe sat up properly. For the first time she could see the bottom of this robe he seemed to be wearing was charred and instead of the rich heady cologne he used to wear, he smelt of fire. That was the smell of burning that she thought was smoke from the club. "How did you get in here?" she asked. Immediately the professional, practical side of her brain kicked up a gear. It was as though the emotions were too much to bear so they were packed away in a corner for another moment where they were safe from bursting through the dam. For now.

"You know me", he spluttered, shifting too, grimacing as he did. "Handcuffs can't hold me, what's a lock?" The question dissolved into a cough.

Her only response was a very watery laugh and she shook her head, letting out a despairing noise from the back of her throat. She swallowed and raised her eyes to him. Her whole being was aching; her head swimming still but her heart was slowing. Chloe had no idea where to start but he stepped in first.

"Dete...Chloe" he continued. "Could you put me in the shower? I feel terrible".

"Can you get up?" she asked. She was really not sure if she could lift him or where she might hurt him if she tried.

"Questionable. Can you?" he responded sitting up a little further from where they had both landed in that unceremonious heap.

She dropped her head and he heard a tired laugh. Between the two of them, they managed to stagger to the stairs. She could not help seeing he was hunched over walking just as carefully as she was, but perhaps for different reasons. The tight, strangling hold he had of her hands caused one of the wounds on his knuckles to split open and a trail of blood moved from his skin to hers. "I'm sorry" he muttered as she just shook her head. That was the last of her concerns.

As they reached her bedroom, she stood him in the middle of the rug, facing the en-suite.

"Can you?" he said, gesturing over his shoulder. She assumed he needed help to take off whatever this thing was he was wearing. "I am decent underneath, I promise".

Without a word Chloe crouched down on the floor and pulled the robe up, over his hips, shoulders and head. She dumped it in the middle of the floor, the smell of burning clouding the air for a second as the material landed. For a second, her stomach lurched as the smell hit her again. She was sure she was going to be sick.

"It's a shroud" he offered before she asked. _A shroud._ The two words tore into her soul almost ripping it to shreds. _A death shroud_. Her thoughts were interrupted when her attention was drawn to his skin. She swallowed heavily and tears flooded her eyes again, praying he could not see her reaction. On his back there was a vicious red mark and she resisted her immediate instinct to touch him, soothe his skin. It ran from shoulder to shoulder. Another one she saw almost parallel to either side of his spine where the scars from his self- mutiliation once stood. They were whip marks she was sure. Chloe might have thought they were for some kind of adult activity if it was not for the rest of the wounds on his back, shoulders, arms, hands, legs. Burns, scalds, scrapes, scratches; she noticed them all. He looked as though he had been tortured. With a tremor she gently touched the back of his arm, biting back tears again.

He knew she had seen the state of him, but he too had no concept of where to start. "Can you do them as well?" he gestured a pair of what looked like shorts. His knuckles were red raw. It looked as though he had been fighting, defending himself. Her hand gently drifted down his arm to nails ripped from their cuticles. _That's why he can't undo the knots._ _He must be in so much pain._ Before she could think further, Chloe nodded and let go of his arm, pulling the cord tie letting them fall to the floor too. He kicked them to the same place as the robe. "Will you..." he started, voice shaking, face creasing in what she only saw as distress. "Will you destroy them? Burn them, properly... make sure they are destroyed."

"Of course I will". Her throat was dry. She had one hand on his right arm again and the other resting on an unmarred patch of his hip as he stood like a statue. There was nothing remotely sexual about it and her 'I love you' seemed to pale into insignificance even if she wanted to say it ten times over to make him feel...What did she want him to feel? Safe? Loved? Instead, practicalities. They were easier to deal with than the screaming inside her that even in her less than sober state she successfully managed to shove away too deep for it to break out. "Hot? Cold?"

"Can you put the water up?" he asked, catching her eye, looking down to her place by his shoulder. "Up as high as it will go and then...can you just leave me?" _Punishment. Let the scorching water burn._

Chloe nodded, gently walking him over to the shower cubicle. One thing she always liked about this house was the fact the shower was huge. He wasn't steady on his feet and wet tiles were a deadly combination as she stood him underneath the faucet, facing the wall and trying not to touch his skin too much. "Ready?" He nodded.

She reached to his side, water splashing onto her too and she cranked the dial up to the maximum temperature. "Close the shower door". It was a command and she complied without question.

For half an hour Chloe sat stock still on the edge of her bed, the dampness of her dress giving her the chills, but all she did was listen out. He was silent, but as she sat her mind was running at a million miles a hour, wondering just what was traversing through him as he stayed almost locked in that cell of a shower. It may have been shock that caused her to sit, not moving as every scratch and bump startled her and nearly caused her to go in and sit closer. Her breathing was shaky and she wanted, _needed_, to go and just make sure he was still there. She also realised he needed time and her questions must wait.

A moment later she heard a voice. "Can you come here?"

Chloe shot up into the bathroom. He was standing out of the shower, a towel around his waist and the other one on the floor. It has slipped off the rack where she left it and she picked up to without being asked. In the footwell of the shower cubicle she could see the faint traces of blood and her heart broke all over again. Ever so carefully she placed the towel around his shoulders and immediately he grimaced in pain.

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "I'm so sorry!"

He just shook his head as they watched each other in the bathroom mirror. In the harsh artificial light she would have been the first to say she looked dreadful. A wet patch on the front of her dress from the shower, rubbed mascara, hair straggly all over her face, cheeks flushed. For the first time she looked properly at his face too alarmed at the dullness in his eyes, the darkness that seemed to surround him and those wounds, all of those wounds that she wanted to bathe, to clean, to _heal._

"I would like to sit down" Lucifer suddenly announced. He too had been fascinated by the image in the mirror. Those beautiful blue eyes looked so haunted; she was thinner, her hair shorter and darker yet underneath it all his Detective was still there. She wasn't scared of him as he thought she might. She was letting him be, and he was grateful.

Carefully again Chloe led him back into her bedroom. He was starting to shiver even though she had put two more towels around his legs and shoulders as gently as she could. "I'll get some clothes for you".

"I don' t think I'd suit one of your blouses". It sounded like something Lucifer would say, but this person who was sitting on her bed was so far removed from him. This person was a shell.

Chloe did not respond as she pulled out a hold all from the bottom of the wardrobe. "Remember we always kept a change of clothes at work? Well, "she continued, hauling the bag onto her bed. "When you... when you left, I just... In case you needed them". She still didn't know why to this day. She knew that they would have been thrown out if they were not claimed and she could not bare that. One day she just took them home, washed them even though they didn't need it and put them away. Even now she could not explain it to herself.

Lucifer smiled, peering out from the mountain of towels she had wrapped him as she zipped open the bag. It was only a t-shirt, casual trousers, underwear, but it did the job. "Do you need help?" she asked.

"Let me manage", Lucifer replied. She didn't have to be caring for him, even though that was the reason he found himself drawn like a magnet to her home.

It took ten minutes of careful manoeuvring and her resisting helping but apart from the t-shirt he was respectable. "You will have to help me with this" he said at last, holding up the thin grey garment. After a litany of apologies, Chloe wondered if she should actually suggest she dressed the wounds and not him, except her voice was failing her. No, that was wrong, she had a thousand things to say, trouble was non of them fitted. She wanted to hold tight onto him, try and help wash away whatever was crowding his mind but even telling him again that she loved him were words that were not strong enough. It was more than simple 'love'.

"It may be best if I go to Lux", he offered all of a sudden as she arranged the hem of the t shirt. "Its too dangerous for me to be with you. I just needed to make sure you were still here".

"Now?" Chloe replied, her voice weak and laced with fear. His eyes were closing and he shook his head.

"I'm too tired and you have too much of Lux's champagne in your system". They could never risk a cab.

"Well", Chloe responded, guiding him back to sit down on her bed. "Trixie has finally grown out of that awful cross eyed doll my mother got her so it won't give me nightmares" Not that she would sleep as she would be listening out for him breathing if she could. "You stay in here, I'll go in there".

Lucifer laughed and grimaced, holding onto his side where the worst mark had been. Chloe shuffled closer to him. "One night won't hurt. Whatever you are running from, one night won't hurt". _One night where I will try to keep you safe. Your 'father' could walk in here and trust me I would see him down on his knees begging for forgiveness. _

"Who said I was running?" he asked. He tried to sound defensive, but it just came out in such a heartbreaking way that Chloe knew she was crying again.

"So you aren't?" she replied, pulling herself together.

"Not in the strictest sense" he responded, being careful of his words.

"Lucifer..." she warned.

He looked up at her; seeing her properly for the first time. She had seen her give that look before. "There are complications" he began. "But please can I just sleep? I will tell you everything, the unvarnished everything I promise you, I promise you I will, but I have no strength. Let me sleep".

Chloe sighed and went to stand up off the bed to help him up. "No" said, catching hold of her arm. "Please can you stay here. Can I stay with you?"

For a moment she panicked, but it was a fleeting split second. He looked vulnerable. Alone and he had asked for her. "Yes" she replied. "Get into bed, I need a shower and..." Chloe hesitated. He was looking up at her, deep brown eyes pleading with her. She wanted to lean down to him and just press the lightest of kisses to his lips to let him know she was there. Instead, unsure of where she stood, she spoke instead. "I will be back soon".

"Thank you".

She took up her vest and pyjamas from a chair and quickly Chloe moved into the bathroom, shutting the door. All of a sudden her whole body lurched forward and that nausea that had settled in her stomach turned into retching. She was not sure if it was the alcohol, shock or both and her stomach only just let her make it to the toilet, throwing her night clothes to one side out of the way. Roughly she swiped the back of her hand over her mouth, tasting old alcohol and it caused her to retch again, her whole body almost convulsing as she threw up again. "What's happening?" she muttered to herself as she took hold of the edge of the bathroom sink to haul herself up as she flushed the toilet with the other hand. She swiped her hand over her face again, taking up her toothbrush and toothpaste. Just the feel of the toothbrush in her mouth made her gag again. "Calm down" she whispered to herself, one ear listening as she heard the bedsprings in the other room creak. "Breathe. Calm down..."

Carefully, as she brushed her teeth, she saw herself again. She was a mess and that was the first thing Lucifer saw. For a second she let herself wonder what he thought of her; this woman too drunk to even walk properly. She clamped her eyes closed. No more crying. He needed her to help; be practical and when he was rested, then she could ask or let him speak.

She threw the toothbrush into the sink and quickly stripped herself of her clothes and pulled the last of the clips out of her hair. Kicking them all into a pile in the corner, she moved into the shower, standing where he had stood. Quickly she let the spray cascade over her head, hitting and spiking at her scalp as the blood stained water at her feet washed away with her tears.

Realising she could not meander in the recesses of her own mind, and after the quickest shower in salvation, she returned to find he had divided the bed up down the middle.

"I do trust you" she said with a light laugh as she gently towelled her hair. There was a wall of pillows.

"I know you do" he replied, out of breath from the simple exertion of building the obstruction. "But I can't lie on my back. If I lie on these, on my side, it will be better"

"Oh" she responded. Chloe almost waited for the comment that he could not bring himself to sleep on anything but mulberry silk, but it never came. When he didn't, her heart broke a little further.

"Why, Detective?" Lucifer suddenly said as he straightened up. "What on earth was running through that naughty little mind of yours?!" For second she saw a flash of the Lucifer she knew in his eyes.

"I didn't..." she stammered utterly embarrassed. Mortified even as she pulled at the vest she was wearing, wonder if it was too revealing.

"Detective"

He stepped behind her, gently combing his fingers through her wet hair, pulling it together to form a makeshift ponytail with his hands. She sighed and a sensation she could not describe almost drowned her sending sparks through her body. It was the simple touch of his hands that seemed far more intimate than any kiss and she began to shake again. "You absolute _bastard_, Lucifer Morningstar". Her words were not loud, not truly harshly said. "I am _so tired_". Her bones were exhausted. Her _soul _was weak and he could see it. _"_I want to help you. Will you let me help you?"

Lucifer breathed carefully, ignoring the stretch of his broken skin. "Detective...Chloe...I am exactly what you say I am, a thousand times over, but of all things in the world, I want to explain it to you but please, I want you to sleep first".

Her wet hair fell from his hands as she walked away, leaving him so utterly bereft. As the whirr of the hairdryer burst into life, Lucifer simply walked over to his side of the bed and watched her.

Oh, how he had missed her. Oh, how he owed her to tell her _everything_.


	6. Chapter 6

**Warning: incredibly brief mentions of torture**

Chloe lay awake.

On the other side of the divide Lucifer was awake as well. In the darkness she felt him move slightly, enough so he could put his hand on the softness of the pillows. They had retired to bed in silence and each lay there, not sure what to say or what to do or even how to broach a talk they desperately needed. The hand, whoever was less than six inches from her hip and for a flash of a second she wondered what it would be like if it just crept across a little further. She mentally kicked herself. Despite her declarations of love back then and those which indeed were still on her lips now, who knows what might have happened? It may have changed him so much that he was incapable of loving her in return. He had never said it; not in the present tense. She had never heard the words said back and may never do now.

Yet, however, he was here. He had come back and the first place he had sought was her home. He must feel safe with me, she thought, her mind ticking away in the silence of the night. He must feel as though he can seek sanctuary against whatever it was that had caused him so much harm. Now she wondered whether he would open up and tell her.

Lucifer heard her shift a little. In a mirror on her dressing table he could just see her; could just see her eyes were open as she held her head away towards the window. The room was only filled with the sound of their breathing and the occasional shift of limbs against cotton; mostly his as he struggled to get comfortable.

"How long have I been away?" he asked suddenly, needing to break this heavy silence that had descended.

"A year. Give or take". She sighed. Her voice cracked and took a deep breath. "A year next Saturday if I am being precise".

Lucifer nodded. "It felt like a thousand. I think it was a thousand...Is...is the spawn...is she well?" his question was so hesitant. _Would she even want her daughter around me now? If the offspring had been here; if she had been home he may well have found himself being kicked back to Hell with more fury that Dad could ever muster up.  
_

"She missed you" Chloe replied. "Misses you". _She missed you just as much as I did because she loves you just as much as I do._

"Where is she?" he asked

"Oh, she's with my mother" she responded.

"Your mother?!" he laughed. "You have lost your mind Detective". All of a sudden he heard her breath in quickly and in the mirror he saw her put her hand to her face and she started crying again. Ignoring the tearing sensation he felt in his back, he turned over and over the wall. "I am sorry. I didn't meant that".

"No" she replied, swiping her palms across her face as she turned her head towards him. She could barely see his face in the light . "You are right. I did...I did think I was losing my mind"._ Am I still?_

Lucifer sighed laying his forehead on the pillows and slid his hand across to hers, resting on her abdomen. He could feel her heart racing underneath her skin. "Ignorant wall" he said all of a sudden and began slinging the pillows onto the floor at the foot of the bed. She started laughing. "You'll hurt yourself!"

"I don't care" Lucifer replied, now completely on his side. She smiled at him. He just simply looked back at her. "Tomorrow...", he started.

"Today" she interrupted. "Its three in the morning".

"Tomorrow" he continued, determined at least for the remainder of the day he was going nowhere. "Can you take me back to Lux? Quietly..."

"Of course I can".

"Thank you". He nodded. He had a thousand things to say but no way of putting them into words. It seemed she was struggling too. It was perhaps more pressing just to recognise his presence, and hers indeed; drink in the fact that they had simply seen each other again. _He had time to spend a day or two with her, he was sure about that._

"Detective, why did you mention my brother?" Lucifer asked.

"Raphael? He came to see me" she responded, stray tear slithering from the corner of her eye. "A few days ago. He wanted to see you".

"Did he now?" In three words Lucifer sounded exhausted and suspicious.

"Do you...did you get on with him?" she asked tentatively. He had more fractured relationships than anyone else she knew and with eight of them Chloe truly wondered what else there was hiding in the shadows. She stopped herself. He was the Devil for goodness sake! Stop being so naive.

"Of all of them yes. Raphie is a good soul. He serves only to assist".

"I liked him" she replied. "I did think..." Chloe stopped herself. If he thought she was going mad to let her mother having Trixie, he would think her truly insane for what she was about to say. She saw a look on his face, encouraging her to continue. Chloe breathed in. There was no time for anything but honesty now; they had to be for their own sakes. What may be a relationship in the future she would be having with the very Devil himself and she needed to be utterly up front. "I did think you had sent him. Somehow...to help me". She felt so alive when she was with him; her blood igniting again with hope. To her relief he did not laugh or mock her.

"I wish I had", he responded, his voice low. _It would have made me feel you were being look after whilst I couldn't. _"No, Raphie tends to do what he does on his own. I think its called empathy". The sentence dissolved into a self conscious laugh and he flexed his fingers entwined with herself. She could feel the dryness of his skin, her thumb rubbing over the roughness of the scrapes on his knuckles and he breathed in, clearly in pain.

"Sorry" she squeaked, their hands separating. Instead he shook his head again and rested his palm on her abdomen, just below her navel. That simple gesture felt more intimate than and she had no qualms in letting him touch her. Chloe felt eyes starting to close. She snapped them open again when she remembered what seemed to be the real reason for his brother's visit. "He said your Dad sent him, to collect an artefact. He mentioned your other brother Michael".

For a split second, Chloe was sure she saw a flash of red in Lucifer's eyes as he leant over her, suddenly towering over it seemed. The palm that was resting, flexed and took a handful of her pale grey vest. She could see how tense he was at the mention of Michael's name and she felt immediate and total intimidation. "Has he been anywhere near you?" The question was tense; urgent and he was almost ready to fly. A split second and he changed. She had seen him like this before and the puzzle pieces were fitting together, about to break, to destroy yet those times one touch from her had stopped him...

"Michael?" she replied, hearing the clear and present threat in his voice. "Not as far as I know. He didn't say he was here".

"Good" Lucifer responded sternly, moving his palm again over her abdomen. He could see her eyes were closing again as it soothed her; pleased she had not flown at him, scratched his eyes out instead of letting him touch her in such a familiar manner. Mind you, if she had those intrusive thoughts of just how _spectacular_ that would be nudged their way into his mind. "Now sleep...please". Another command. She smiled weakly, feeling the overwhelming need to rest. He took in lungful of oxygen. "I am sorry for hurting everyone. For hurting you."

She shook her head. "I understand why you did it. Why you had to do it". It was the one thing she had worked through in her mind. He had grown, matured, taken responsibility and, despite it breaking her heart, if he hadn't then all Hell would have broken loose. Literally. Chloe paused but the words were out of her mouth before she could sanitise it. "I don't understand why you are back".

He looked down setting his jaw and Lucifer shifted again. "I was weak", he started. "They knew it. Knew my time here had weakened me. They seemed to know I was becoming mortal. I wasn't effective". He pressed his lips together. "I didn't want to be effective. I tried to be like I used to me, believe me I did, but in the end...no". Home was _here._

She found his hand and wound her fingers into his again. "I saw what you could be when you commanded all those demons to leave". It had hit her straight in the chest...and other places...and that was what had given her courage to follow him back to the penthouse that awful night. Lucifer shook his head. _ That was nothing. _"I'm sorry Lucifer, I really am. We could have had so much" she continued, her voice slowing as sleep decided to take her.

"Who says we can't?"

She laughed and shook her head, sounding even more tired. Within seconds he could her breathing level out and her eyes were closed. Ever so gently he extracted his hand and turned back to his side of the bed.

Sleep itself was interrupted. Ten minutes here and there, a half hour, ten minutes but when it seemed he had finally fallen asleep for more, Chloe crept downstairs to make them some breakfast. It was almost ten o'clock by the time he woke again and found the bed empty. Instead he could smell cooking and glancing at the clock on her side of the bed, he wondered why she had not gone to work.

As she pottered around downstairs, Chloe Jane Decker's world felt a truly different place now. Yesterday, a crying, shaky, shell and today it was as though she was floating. Maybe she was in shock still, but even if she had a few days with him, it was still more time.

"Chloe?" his voice was so tentative.

She spun around to see him walking across the room, still in his emergency clothes and holding his arms to hug her. Chloe hesitated.

"I see" Lucifer said, his voice cold and distant. "I am still repulsive to you it seems."

"No" she whispered, scooting forward to where he was standing by the breakfast bar. "I can't hold you because I'll hurt you!" She didn't want to shout or raise her voice. "Have you seen the state of your back?"

He nodded. He had looked in the bathroom mirror only a few minutes before.

"This bits not hurting" he said, tapping his chest. Chloe sighed. She'd been wanting to hug him properly since she realised last night that she was not in some kind of alcohol induced psychosis. Carefully she stepped across wrapping her arms carefully around his waist, her head resting on his chest. She felt a kiss pressed to the top of her head.

"For now" he started, "please don't tell anyone I'm back".

"I won't" she replied, snuggling close. "Not even Maze or Amenediel? Linda?"

"No. Nobody" he responded, before pausing. "Maybe...maybe Linda, but not this moment". She nodded. "What about work?" Lucifer added.

"Called in sick. Said I had a migraine".

"Ah" he said, closing his eyes and breathing in her proximity. "The after effects Lux's most expensive Champagne If I am not mistaken? You were excreting it from your pores last night". He had mentioned Lux's champagne last night.

"Was I that bad?" she asked. He could not see the embarrassed grimace on her face.

"On my standards? No, but you were thoroughly hammered when I heard you come back. Swearing to yourself..." Chloe laughed and shook her head. "Mind you if was the bottles I was thinking of, well..." She felt him shrug.

"What was in them?" she asked, her face dead.

"Something to make the night go with a little more _bang_". The last word was said with emphasis. "Maze should never have given you it. She knew. It was my personal stash".

"What was in it Lucifer?" she asked, the question more urgent now. Maybe that was why it had had such a god-awful effect on her.

Lucifer sighed. Honesty was required. "Methylenedioxymethamphetamine" he said quietly.

"Oh..." she whined. MDMA. Ecstasy . Molly. Anytrhing could have happened. Chloe pressed her face into his chest in despair feeling his palms rub her back, up and down, up and down, soothing her.

"Did it do anything to you?", he asked. "Apart from your frankly appalling language, unprecedented violence and inability to negotiate your heels?" one of them was on the hearth rug, the other, who knows?

"I actually feel alright now", she responded as she did, except quickly a cold sweat ran from head to foot when she realised. "That means Ella and Linda had it too! Don't say anything to Maze." In her own twisted logic, the demon probably thought she was helping.

"I'll think about it" he replied, arms going tighter around her shoulders. Maze was the least of his problems at the moment but he had no intention fo leaving that one alone. He would deal with that particular demon once the time came and deal with her he would. "So irresponsible" he muttered. She started giggling. "What?"

"You" she replied, looking up at him. "Actually saying that giving someone drugs is irresponsible". He truly had changed it seemed.

"It is when they don't consent to it". Despite the fact he was supposed to represent all that was evil, he had never forced himself on anyone or made them do anything they didn't truly want. The grip on her tightened and his palms went to run to her waist, taking handfuls of her hips. He hadn't genuinely intended it to be anything more than simply making sure she was still there and breathe in her warmth. He had not expected to her that little catch in the back of her throat and just the slightest hint of her pressing closer to him.

"You do forgive me, don't you?" It was a rhetorical question. Chloe raised her head so her chin was on his chest to allow her to look at him.

"I didn't mean to call you a bastard" She was truly sorry.

"I know you didn't" he replied running a hand over her hair. "You have every right to call me every name under the sun. I could actually teach you a few for future reference if you want" he added cheekily. "But I accept your apology".

"Let me see your back" she said, moving out of his grip. She was going to whether he liked it or not he was not actually going to say 'don't' and he felt her pull up the back of the t shirt he was wearing. "Its healing" she stated. The two long lines, she realised, were where his wings ought to have met his body. There was however a distinct difference in them that could not be put down to the different light. "Show me your hands". It had crossed her mind to leave him last night, let him sleep alone should she make matters worse if it meant he would not get better. "I thought I made you vulnerable".

"You do, you did" he replied, ever so slightly confused and he held out a hand for her as she moved to face him again, gently replacing the t-shirt. True enough she could see the nails that had been pulled out where growing back. "You are definitely healing", she smiled, turning his hands over and over. They even_ felt_ less dry and damaged.

"I'm also hungry" he announced. The smell of bacon and eggs had assaulted him the moment he managed to make it downstairs. He didn't have to eat. It didn't mean he didn't want to

Chloe rolled her eyes and rested her palms on his chest. "Sit down then. It'll be a minute or two".

He took up a seat and just decided to watch her and take in the moment.


	7. Chapter 7

Breakfast had been spent in relatively quietude as had most of the day. The morning crept into afternoon and afternoon into early evening and neither had moved very much from the settee.

"You need clothes", Chloe suddenly announced as she passed him a coffee she had just made them both. It was instant, and she knew he probably wouldn't drink it but it would have to do.

"I don't" he smiled, as she sat next him on the settee, keeping a respectable distance. Yes, that lascivious smile had found its way back already but there was still something in his eyes that she could not place and was unsure how to ask.

"You do", she responded with a laugh in her voice, turning her coffee cup in her hands, feeling oddly nervous of him. Going to Lux would be hard, she knew that, for him and for her. It was where they said what she thought was their last goodbye. "We should go tonight. When it's busy. Easier to sneak in, don't you think?" she suggested, looking at him from underneath her eyelashes.

"You are a devious little creature when you want to be aren't you?" Lucifer asked as he took a sip of the hot drink too. Instant. _He would have to buy her a coffee machine. _Chloe just smiled. How different a world it was from just two days ago when her life was slowly imploding in on its self and her thoughts were so unruly that she truly felt it was the end of her. At least this time if he was going again, she would have time to say goodbye to him properly and Chloe Decker meant _properly, properly_. She would have the memories then of being closer to him than ever before, devil be damned.

So after a day of simply being in each other's company, lazing around, sleeping and avoiding questions until he was ready, they found themselves outside the back alley way into Lux hiding in the darkness of the almost midnight. To his relief the code to open the door still worked. He took her by the hand, leading her to another door at the side of the corridor. "Where are we going?" Chloe asked. The back way into the building just seemed to be a rabbit warren of rooms, corridors and stairs and Lucifer was silent.

"Somewhere" he finally replied as they arrived in front of two metal doors. He flipped open a small box on the wall that revealed a key pad. He punched in a number which she read over his shoulder. Well, you never know when it might come in handy, do you?. _"24563". _A lift opened up in front of her and after a minute or two, it popped open to another incredibly narrow corridor, so narrow she could only walk behind him. It was dark, almost creepy and looking only like emergency lighting was on. As he walked along, he continued to pull her along. Even though he knew nobody would be up here, he did not want to find out if anyone was so they had to be quick. He had to recce the place first.

"These are private booths up here. Reserved" he said, pushing a different code into a keypad in this time and a door opened to reveal a room bathed in minimal light, yet with plush, comfortable velvet on every surface in purples, blacks and reds. Thick carpet cushioned Chloe's feet as she walked across to a glass wall. Looking down, she saw the heaving bodies of the guests in the club as they danced several floors below; the music clearly pounding although she could barely hear it. "It's only me that has the code. It's all one way", he said tapping on the glass as it made a dull noise. "You can get up to all kinds in here and no-one has a clue...Sit down".

Chloe turned and sat on a settee, sinking deep into the luxurious fibres not for a second wondering what she was actually sitting on bearing in mind 'you can get up to all kinds in here' and he probably did. Lucifer, however, did not follow, only standing close to the glass, hands shoved in his pockets and looking down at all he surveyed. _Like the Lord that he was_. The club was full again and even though they could only faintly hear the music, blue, red, green and yellow lights flashed past them as the entirety of the club _bounced_. "Did Maze really keep the place open?" he asked. It was the first time he had mentioned her all day.

"Yes" Chloe responded. He looked tense around the shoulders as he continued to survey his domain. "The day after you left, she came here and opened the club as usual".

"She did that for me?" he asked. It was almost a foreign concept that someone would do that, but in truth, he should never have doubted the demon.

"Yes she did", Chloe replied, hearing him sigh loudly and move from foot to foot. "There are people here that love you, Lucifer. Even if they don't show it in the best of ways".

She saw him nod and he turned, going to sit a foot or two away from her on the other end of the settee. Chloe watched as he stretched his legs out and closed his eyes, resting his head against the back cushion.

"Lucifer" she began, shuffling closer to him; her legs pulled up off the floor. "When are you going to tell people you are back?" she asked, cautious that she might just say something or people might see the change in her demeanour; see the relief that she now felt that she might just have a little more time with him. She also wanted to know why he was back, but if she pushed him, well...

"A few days", he replied, his eyes still closed.. "I need to acclimatise again". He would tell her but this was not the time or the place.

"Do, do you want me to leave you?" Chloe asked. He might want peace and quiet, he might want to be away from her. He might have business to attend to.

"Sorry?" he questioned, eyes flickering open in surprise.

"Leave you", Chloe repeated. Her voice had suddenly lost it strength again. "So you can heal and...and do what you need to do now you are back here".

"Why would you do that Detective?" He took hold of her hand and turned his head to face her. "I'd rather have a few days more of pain than to suddenly leave you again". She smiled hesitantly. "Besides, it was rather fun listening to you swearing like a fish wife and trying to drop kick your shoes. But" he said, sitting up properly and leaning across with his other hand, gently running his fingers over her temple. "No more getting drunk without me, or unintentional drug taking. At least for a few days" he said. "You are not going anywhere".

Chloe smiled in relief.

"I have things to do but I want to see if Raphael turns up again to see you". If Lucifer was off the radar, it was more likely that his brother might seek her out again. His empathy would draw him to her."And I..." he began, wondering if he might regret asking, wondering if it might scare her even more. "Could you do something for me? Could you...check my wings?" Chloe blinked at the frankly bizarre question but was this what her life was about now, even if it only might be for brief moment in time? "I mean I know they are there - I can feel them – they got me back here after all, but I want to be sure they...that they haven't changed..."

"Of course I will" she replied, resisting a sudden need to lean across, kiss him, let him push her down on the settee and do whatever he wished with her. She thought she could see something change in his eyes, but she was, in all truthfullness too scared of herself to move unless he made her.

Instead they crept out of the room, her being pulled behind him again and as they arrived in the penthouse, Lucifer turned and punched in another code. A red light flashed and it locked the lift.

Carefully she followed behind him watching him take off his t-shirt before turning and facing her. A moment later he was kneeling on the floor at her feet, staring down, having deliberately, consciously not glanced anywhere around the penthouse. "The Devil bows before you, my Queen" he said reverently, looking up to find her standing not too far in front of him. Chloe nearly laughed in apprehension and shock until she saw the seriousness on his face._ The Queen of Hell._ She saw him breath in and out, her own hands clasped together and pressed to her mouth. She walked to step behind him, standing between his ankles. As she looked Chloe could see underneath his skin that something was moving and with a 'woompf' noise one wing appeared - the one to Chloe's left. It was shaking. "They have a life of their own" Lucifer offered with weak laugh.

"The other?" Chloe asked, resisting touching. It was almost overwhelming the need that rushed through her body to just reach forward but as he straightened up it almost broke her train of thought. She could see he was trying to flex his shoulder to no avail.

"Perfect..." he muttered. "Lopsided". That might be Dad's ultimate finger.

Chloe could still something moving under his skin. It was like something out of 'Alien' but she did not say a word. He tried again and sighed in frustration until she had an idea. "Let me try something", she said, taking a step forward and ever so gently she massaged the area that had before her eyes been moving, gently coercing his skin. Thirty seconds later the wing unfurled itself and she stepped quickly back as it barely missed her.

Lucifer stood up and the wings stretched to their full glory. He could not see her eyes. That feeling of wonderment engulfed her again, seeing the white feathers, some tiny, gently shifting and, she thought, relaxing. "What did you do?" he asked. Chloe actually wasn't sure what she had done. "It worked on Trixie when she was a baby" she replied, "when she had colic".

"Thanks(!)" Lucifer replied, really not sure how to take that. They stood, his back still to her and for once in his life, the confidence that he had, deserted him. She was still there though. He could feel her presence an arm's length away. "Say something" he asked.

"They...They are beautiful" she responded. They were more than 'beautiful'. It was too simple a word but it was all her addled brain could offer.

"Is anything...missing?" he asked hesitantly.

Even in the semi darkness of the penthouse she could see the odd feather was perhaps not as bright as the one next to it; but to her they looked fairly intact, some even looked silvery, shimmering before her. "I don't think so" she said unsure. "But I've never scrutinized the Devil's wings before".

She heard Lucifer laugh and the wings shook. "My own personal feather inspector...Should I hire you permanently?"

"Can I touch?" she asked, ignoring the question as he knew full well it had connotations.

"Be careful" he warned. Nobody had ever touched those wings in anything but anger in the past. Even Maze when she hacked them off on the beach although for a demon she had been gentle. Trouble was, knowing what he knew of her he did not know how he would react. Every so gently she touched her fingertips to the arch of one of the wings. Immediately he flinched and almost jumped away causing her to breath in and babble a litany of apologies.

"No, no" he said. "It wasn't pain. More like an electric shock. Do it again" he added quickly, looking back her over his shoulder. He saw that look in her mesmerised eyes, her hands pressed to her face, almost as though she was praying._ 'Do it again'. _ Like when she slapped him in the lift. Chloe just laughed, putting her hands over her mouth now as tears formed in her eyes. They were good tears this time. Tears of relief as her shoulders relaxed. At least for now.

Before he could say something or turn to her he heard the lift rumble and the wings shot back. "Someone's ones coming up" he whispered and he grabbed her hand, towing her to the other side of the penthouse, round the side of a wide bookshelf, wondering how as he had locked the lift. He definitely had. Lucifer pressed his back to the side of the bookcase and pulled her to him so her back was to his belly. An arm wrapped around her neck to make them as invisible as possible.

Chloe recognised the footsteps. The click of Maze's footsteps over the polished floor. She could feel his heart racing against her back and hers was not very far behind. Knowing it was Maze though, she was about to step forward to greet the demon when his other arm slid around her middle.. "Not yet" he whispered. She could feel his breath tickle the top of her head and she fell silent, unconsciously trying to make herself smaller too as the room fell silent as well.

Maze had stopped walking it seemed and Lucifer peeked around the bookshelf using his height as an advantage but he could not see what she was doing.

For the demon herself, she only came up here to check all was the way it should be. It was almost obsessive; fixated to make sure the penthouse was exactly how he left it for when he came back, except what she saw stopped her moving. She thought she was seeing things and as Maze bent down to crouch on the floor, she picked up the tiny white feather. A overwhelming anger suddenly rumbled from the depths of her being. "Bastard..." she spat to anyone who might listen.

"You women seem rather fond of that word around me recently" Lucifer whispered, as Maze stormed back into the lift, heels furiously clicking on the floor. She was cursing under her breath in a language only Lucifer could understand.

Less than two minutes later as the two remained almost frozen to the spot, Chloe's cell phone vibrated. It was in her back pocket of her jeans and whilst she felt it, so did Lucifer too. "Ooh, is that your phone, Detective or are you just pleased to see me?" he asked. Lucifer still had one arm around her waist but the one around her shoulders had relaxed.

"You are a walking cliché" she whispered, fishing between them to get the phone out of her pocket. She found she had a message. It was a picture of the feather accompanied with a simple request from Maze.

_"__Call me"_

Over her shoulder Lucifer saw the message too. "On a scale of one to ten" he started. "Just how mad was she when I left?"

Chloe sighed.

_"__Fifteen". _


	8. Chapter 8

Before she could say anything more, Lucifer took the cell phone from her hand and breathed pointedly out of his nose. She stepped away from him, confident that Maze was not simply about to reappear.

"What do I say?" she asked. He had to drive this for them both. It his was his secret she was trying to keep as Lucifer licked his lips, deep in thought. He tapped something or other into the screen that she did not see and turned the phone back over to her for her to read once he saw the message had been delivered.

_"__Come back up to the penthouse"_. He'd finished it with his devil emoji. Maze would know it was him. "Are you sure?" Chloe asked tentatively, not that she could do anything about it now the message had been sent.

He nodded. "She knows already. She picked up that feather. There's is no point in hiding from Maze, Detective". _Bounty hunter and the best in the business, of course, even if Lux had somehow got in the way. _

With that Lucifer took her hand and led her to sit by the coffee table. He sat opposite her, her back to the lift. Chloe sat, tense, hands and knees clasped together as she watched a bird land on the balcony. Anything to distract her but it flew away just as quickly as it landed and she could not keep his gaze no matter how hard she tried. Opposite Lucifer had his elbows on his knees, hands pressed to his face until the ping of the lift made Chloe jump. She thought she heard a quiet 'sssshhh, it's alright' from him but she was really not sure what he said. What she could hear clearly though were Maze's footsteps as the heels clunked across the floor again.

The demon had to admit that she had been confused. Why would Decker be up in the penthouse? She hadn't seen her come in. Why would Decker sign off her message with a devil face? It had taken barely a second from that message for Maze to realise who exactly had caused her to be called up to the penthouse. The feather. It was from his wings just as her wildest imagination had suspected and that message had confirmed it.

Maze walked across to stand between them both, hands on her hips, Lucifer the first to react and he stood up. Without even looking at him, as she had been staring at the other woman in the room, Maze stepped over to Chloe and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, hauling her out of her seat. If she could have reached her long ponytail she would have taken hold of that too. With a shocked squeal, Chloe found herself dragged to her feet and thrown with force against a single chair. "So how long you been hiding him then Decker? Hey?! Days, weeks?!" Maze was furious and all that anger she had felt when he left started spilling out, her chin jutting out, waiting for the other woman to speak. Chloe herself scrabbled to her feet and, in nothing more than pure defensive trained detective mode, not caring that Maze could do far worse than shove her, Chloe went for her, able to grab her hair, twisting and pulling, dragging her closer to the floor. Lucifer stepped between the two of them.

"Ladies! Please! I like women fighting over me at the best of times, and believe me this could be quite the aphrodisiac, but this is not one of those moments thank you very much". He had hold of Chloe's wrist and his arm was across Maze's chest. Both women were breathing heavily and it was the woman on his right who broke the silence.

"Since this morning. He has been here since last night, Maze" Chloe replied, her voice quieter than ever. "Not weeks, not months".

"Oh I see. _Last night_" Maze responded aggression seeping through as she pushed against the barrier of Lucifer's arm as his eyes warned her from further encroachment. "Little bit of bonding time, am I right? Surprised I didn't find you bent over that piano because you would wouldn't you?! One word from him and you Decker would be melting..." As she said the words, Maze shoved his arm away and stepped closer towards Chloe and ran a finger down the Detective's skin from her throat to the 'v' of her shirt, pulled from her belt after the demon's earlier assault.

"Maze!" Lucifer scolded, trying not to raise his voice nor be too physical with either of them.

"When that day arrives" the demon continued, her finger tip still resting far too close to Chloe's skin, "he will make you scream Decker. Take it from someone who knows..." Chloe's heart was racing and, even though she knew Maze, she was genuinely frightened.

"Mazikeen!" Lucifer's voice was dripping with hatred as he saw colour rise over Chloe's face at the comment.

"What?" she spat back, throwing a glance back at him in challenge before she began examining Chloe's face as though she was a piece of fresh, tender meat ready to be devoured. Her dark eyes tried to pick out every blue green fleck in the Detective's before her. Chloe could feel her breathing on her face she was that close and looked to Lucifer, her eyes pleading with him to pull the threat away from her, truly wondering what she had done to face this onslaught.

"No Mazikeen" Lucifer continued, trying to keep his voice level and putting himself bodily between the two women again. "No more! Go...You are here because you followed me. Believe me; I can put you right back there and it will not take me more than a second to make my mind up". He could tell Maze was resisting take a swing at him but instead she stepped away, storming a few paces away from their presence.

"Don't you get it, Lucifer?!" she shouted, spinning back around. "That's where I want to be! I want to be back in Hell."

"You wanted to be here" Lucifer replied, arms folded across his chest. Behind him he felt Chloe's hand just rest on his hip and the simmering inside dialled down a notch or two. If the detective had not been there, take it from him, there would have been more than words by now. Blood would have been drawn, no matter how hard he was trying to be the better man these days.

Maze squinted at him. "I wanted to be here because you were here. That's why I followed you in the first place. You went!" she continued, pointing at him with one finger drawn. "Eve went..."

"Ah" Lucifer responded, folding his arms, feet braced in wide, confident stance as realisation dawned. "So this is what it's all about. Nothing to do with me Mazikeen, all to do with your little fancy of my ex-girlfriend..." The phrase 'ex-girlfriend' stung Chloe more than she would freely admit.

"No Lucifer, this is all your fault!" Maze screamed. "Everything is your fault! I have lost so much". She was determined not to cry; not willing to show the slightest scrap of vulnerability. Lucifer felt Chloe's hand tighten on his hip, silently willing him to calm down.

With that Maze walked up to him, pressing her body length against his and he took a step back, almost knocking Chloe over. If she did not such a snarl on her face, he might have found it vaguely arousing to be jammed between two incredibly beautiful women again; one of whom was _incredibly_ angry. "So where is she then? Tell me you ass or as Decker is my witness I will break every bone in your body twice over."

Lucifer took a breath, relatively glad Maze that did not know that Chloe made him vulnerable. "Try it. Just you try it". His voice was quiet but both women heard the obvious threat within it. As he towered over her, Chloe could see the demon back off.

"Where is she Lucifer?" Chloe asked, stepping out from beside him. She was genuinely curious that he seemed to know where Eve was. She saw his head drop. His shoulders heaved and he looked sideways at her until Maze interrupted.

"Leave us Decker". Maze's voice was heavy, dripping with venom and it was an order.

Chloe shot a look at Lucifer, searching his face for guidance. He nodded his assent. "Go and wait for me. Where we were before and I will come up when I'm..._finished_...here". The word 'finished' was directly, deliberately aimed at the demon.

"No" Chloe replied. Her tone was stronger than she intended as Lucifer turned fully to her, his back to the demon, and not expecting that answer. His face creased into a frown.

"No?" he responded curiously. Was she defying him? Of course she was. She was Chloe Jane Decker, she was perfection and it was in her blood.

"No". She faced up him, shaking her head just the once and Lucifer was flummoxed. He was unable to wrest his eyes from hers as she held him mesmerised and befuddled in equal measure.

"Go upstairs" Lucifer tried again.

"No" Chloe responded, standing up as straight as she could. She was still inches taller than her, but of all things, she had learned she had a power over him that perhaps no other had. If he was only here for a few more days, she had nothing to lose. She was also determined to find out now what he was going to say.

He took a step towards her placing both his palms on her face, gently stroking her cheekbones with his thumbs. He was sure she was shaking, but whether it was fear or anger he had no idea. "Chloe...please". Lucifer was not afraid of begging her to go. He knew what was about tell Maze and in truth, he wanted to shield the Detective from what might follow. He knew it was would be unpleasant. Equally he had promised to tell her the unbridled truth but he wanted to tell her alone with interruptions. Chloe closed her eyes, breathing in his proximity and for a moment she felt lightheaded, almost as thought she was drunk, head swimming again. She had felt this before, those days when panic overwhelmed her and it felt as though someone was running an electricial current through her brain. Tiny sparks going off and firing, firing through her head making her feel fuzzy. Linda had mentioned it was stress; a hyperstimulation response to stress to be more exact. Her neurons hated her too it seemed and they were back with a vengence today. Without warning, Chloe felt as though she was going to faint, the room spinning for a split second. If perhaps he had not been holding her she may have fallen.

Before she could open her eyes again to inhabit the room again, Chloe felt his lips on hers; just the gentlest pressure. Lucifer heard just the quietest sound of supplication from her, or it might have been shock, as she felt his mouth move over hers, not invading but just a smoothness of his lips trying to convince her to do his bidding. He stayed there, lips not moving until felt her shoulders lower as she exhaled. He broke the kiss, both hearing a noise from Maze that Chloe assumed was a barely disguised disgust at the display in front of her.

He saw her shoulders rise again as she breathed in. "Please...Chloe" he said, one hand moving from her face to push a strand of hair away. "So precious..." His voice was wistful as though he didn't understand just what he was looking at. "Just for a while. I'm asking you to go upstairs and..."

She opened her eyes again, taking in the genuine concern on his face. "No". She was resolute and continued to look at him, not blinking, almost wondering if she could stare him down.

Lucifer's head dropped. "Alright" he said, realising he was not going to get anywhere with that look on her face. He walked her backwards so she felt the edge of the chair that she had been thrown into touch the back of her calves. She felt a very gentle push as she dropped to the leather seat watching him as he walked across to other woman.

"Maze" he started, dropping the defensive stance and trying to keep the situation as calm as he could. He had become quite the negotiator this last however how long he had been in Hell and he did not want the Detective to witness the kind of 'discussions' he and his loyal demon had had in years past. "I know where she is. Eve. I know where she is".

"What?" Maze responded so quietly he could barely hear her. Chloe's head shot up at this news but she stayed where she was.

"Eve" he repeated quietly. "I know where she is or... where she was a few days ago". He was really was not quite sure how much time had passed, only that he had been back in Los Angeles for almost thirty six hours.

Maze looked at him, her eyes flashing to Chloe who looked just as confused, half ready to spring up and try to separate them if she could. She had seen enough of their relationship already to know its volatility. Despite her previous accusations that the Detective had been hiding to keep him all to herself, Maze believed that look on her face that she truly did not know. "Where?" Maze demanded, pushing forward again, standing an inch from him, the fury of the demon seeping from every pore in her body.

He took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"Hell" Lucifer replied. "Eve is in Hell".


	9. Chapter 9

"She is in where?!"

Chloe and Maze's words were identical and he saw Chloe get up and stand beside the demon, both with their arms folded and with looks of barely disguised fury on their ever so beautiful faces. "Oh, bloody hell" Lucifer offered under his breath as he examined them. "The twins from The Shining strike again".

His joke fell flat. "She is in Hell" he repeated. "Eve is in Hell".

Chloe shook her head not believing what she was hearing, but it was Maze that was the first to speak and she took several steps forward. "You are telling me that Eve, a live human, has made her way to Hell?" she asked, curious on one hand and ready to strike with the other. How ridiculous. It could not happen. _Not unless there was some celestial intervention._

"Yes" he replied, wondering how many more times he needed to say it. "She..." he began, eyes flashing between the two of them – Maze seeping fury at him standing so close, and Chloe who was white as a sheet now and looking everywhere but at him. "Oh for fu...will you sit down? Both of you."

The two women complied and sat next to each other. Lucifer, again, sat opposite. He cleared his throat. "She turned up, I'm not sure exactly when or who with, but she turned up not long after I left here. Wouldn't tell me how she got there, or why she was there. Just that she was".

Maze huffed at him. "That's it? That is all?"

"That's it", he replied. Chloe knew he wasn't exactly telling Maze the full story and so did the demon. They could tell he was holding back but for the Detective she could feel herself starting to disconnected from the people around her, separate herself and she could do nothing about it as she started drowning again.

"I don't buy it", Maze offered pulling a face, shaking her head in despair.

"Well I am so unashamedly apologetic for the fact your purchase is not what you expected it to be, Mazikeen". The sarcasm dripped from his voice and his expression hardened.

Maze just shook her head in despair. "I give up with you Lucifer. You waltz out of here without a damn word to anyone but Decker. I have to be sent to bounty hunt her to find her in here, almost freezing to death on your fucking balcony and you expect me to just say to you that's alright?!" She was breathing heavily. "You left us with 20, 30 bodies in the Mayan trying to explain to the police where suddenly all of these corpses came from?! Leave me to look after Lux!? Just leave us at all?!"

"You know full well why I left", he responded, his words biting their way from his mouth.

"Do I?!" Maze screamed, her whole body tense, tight and ready to spring. "I only know what _she_" she said, pointing at Chloe, "was able to tell me and it was not her place to explain!"

"Alright", Lucifer said quietly. "Alright!" His voice was louder and Chloe jumped. She could feel those sparks inside her head again at what was unfolding before her, her vision dropping in and out. Lucifer rounded on the demon. It was almost as though Chloe was not sitting just there and he pulled Maze to her feet. Despite his apparent promises to himself and the room as a whole, something was screaming internally at him. "You want to know about Eve then?" he asked, spitting venom. "Your precious little Eve and what she's done?"

"Yes" Maze replied defiantly having no idea what he was about to say or do.

Lucifer turned his back to the two women. Chloe looked up at the movement and realised what he was about to do but could not speak. He hauled the t-shirt over his head, throwing it on the floor so it landed on her feet, and showing them the angry, red marks on his back. "Look Mazikeen, look at me!" He knew that she would be staring at the floor. "Look what your 'love' did to me".

"Eve..." Maze replied, her voice cracking and floundering as she saw the state of his skin. "She did that?"

"Yes!" Lucifer spat as he deliberately fixed his eyes on a lounger on the balcony.

"I don't believe you" Maze spluttered, shaking her head. "No, she woundn't do that..."

"Well she did", Lucifer replied spinning around, enunciating each word. She could see the marks on the tops of his arms now, the occasional dot on his abdomen. Maze was shaking her head. It did not register that Chloe was silent; not contributing. She had her eyes closed now, unable to cope with the buzzing sensation that had overtaken her body.

"No", Maze continued. "Impossible..."

"Not impossible" Lucifer replied, facing off to her, but trying not to let any anger truly show. He could see how it was affecting the Detective and he wanted Maze as far away from her as possible. She was never normally this quiet when there was an argument to be had.

Maze continued to shake her head. What game was he playing with her? "Well I don't believe you".

"You have no choice Mazikeen", he responded. "You know I don't lie". With that the demon was gone in a blaze of fury, snarling and storming out of penthouse without another word for him in anger or otherwise.

As his breathing slowed, Lucifer looked down at Chloe. She had somehow picked up his t shirt and it was on her knee, her hands wrapped within its warmth. He knelt down in front of her, ever so gently pushing her chin up. Her eyes were unfocussed. She did not look _present._ "Look at me" he pleaded, brushing a thumb over her cheekbone before, a second later, she snapped out of whatever it was.

"Where's Maze?" she asked, speech sounding slurred. It had not even registered she had gone.

"Downstairs" Lucifer responded. "She wasn't pleased".

Chloe gently placed a hand on his bare chest. His jaw was tense and she could feel his heart racing away. "Go after her" she said before she saw him shake his head. He had more current problems than a furious demon.

"No" he replied, resolute he would not be chasing after her out of pride and equal concern. "Do you mind..." he started. "Do you mind if I collect some clothes and we go somewhere else?"

"Home?" Chloe questioned, but she did not receive an answer as he pressed a kiss to her forehead and walked away.

The ride back to Chloe's house by the beach was silent and the first thing that came out of his mouth as she closed the front door was a question. "Do you mind I have another shower?"

"Of course not" she replied, feeling better now that she was out of Lux and away from the noise. "Do you want something to eat too?" It was almost midnight but he was not hungry and neither was she. Lucifer shook his head and made his way upstairs. Chloe thought of going upstairs after him. It was the middle of the night but for some reason she was wide awake now. She did think of waiting down here, but what if he expected her to follow? She stood in no man's land in the hallway for a minute or two, hearing the odd thump upstairs and vaguely, the shower kick into life. Perhaps she would lock up and go up.

She crept carefully into her bedroom, still hearing the rush of the shower, and threw last night's pyjamas into the hamper. To her surprise she found his days clothes in there too and Chloe was not sure whether to laugh that he expected her to do his washing, or to cry that he seemed so familiar to do so. She put the lid back on the hamper again, before she pulled out a drawer, taking out fresh pyjama bottoms and vest. His bag from Lux was on the bed and for a moment she went to unzip it, but she stopped herself. His clothes. _His privacy._ Instead she waited for him to reappear which he did not too long later.

"Lucifer your back is bleeding". It was only a sliver of blood from a graze that he had obviously rubbed in the shower and she had noticed it as he turned.

Without a word, she took a clean bath towel from the top shelf of the wardrobe and lay it down on the bed. "Lie down. Let me look at your back". He did what she asked without a word of objection and he lay face down, hearing her rush into the bathroom and the cabinet open and close. Lucifer felt the bed dip beside him and a very hesitant, tender touch "They do look different again. You are healing Lucifer, you definitely are". If she could be occupied caring for him then she need not think.

He sighed loudly, his head turning towards her side. "I shouldn't be".

"Well whatever it is, you are", she replied, looking slightly closer at the long mark that ran to the right of his spine, squinting at it. For five or so minutes, she continued to gently press aloe vera into what looked like burns, and antiseptic into the grazes. She left what she thought were whip marks alone. They were the ones that were healing the quickest.

"It _was_ Eve that did this" he offered all of a sudden. "Like I said, I wasn't lying to Maze."

"You never lie" she replied, wanting to push him to explain further.

She saw his back heave. Her ministrations had ended and her hand was gently laying on the base of his spine. He was sleepy, she could see. He was vulnerable too, but if he spoke, he spoke despite the fact she was itching to interrogate him. "She was down there. Is down there" he clarified.

"Do you truly not know how she got there?" Chloe asked tentatively, brushing a thumb over his skin in at attempt to soothe.

He shook his head. He promised her he would tell her the unvarnished truth. "I do know. With Michael"

"Your brother Michael?" A coldness swept from her shoulders, shivers of fear scratching her skin. She remembered Raphael's hesitance.

"My beloved, twisted, sick brother Michael, yes. I think he brought her there" he offered, failing to disguise the distaste he felt for his sibling in his voice. "I was told he had been seen". Some people were still loyal to him it would seem and oddly it had been Dromos who had delivered the news. "When she was here," he began, "she got a taste for trouble, a taste for harm, torture. It's my fault, I led her down that path and I could not get her back. You saw her. She found it _exciting_..."

Chloe nodded. There were things she had noticed. The other women's encouragement of his darkest side; the deliberate provocation that it was only her that was able to cool. She wondered if he felt betrayed by this woman who had been his love. "So you..." Was the word? "Escaped?"

He nodded. "I had to". _She would have had me dead. She knew I was vulnerable now. Mortal. She knew Detective Decker had made me so. Cutting the apple. Why did he tell her?_

"Lucifer I am so sorry" she cried. "I know how much she meant to you".

He sat up on the bed, turning to her, legs crossed. "It's not something you have to apologise for. It is my appalling mess that I have to clean up". He looked down at the mess she had created around him. Antiseptic, aloe vera and dressings covered in streaks of his own blood. "Come on, get changed. Lie down. It's the middle of the night. I don't want to talk about her any more".

Again Chloe threw herself into the shower, wondering how that sweet girl, albeit the Actual Eve, who protected Trixie could become something so evil as to torture? How was that possible? The shower was that short and her hair could wait another day so her mind was not allowed to ruminate even more and she stepped out after only a few minutes before dressing in silence.

Chloe climbed into bed. It almost felt natural for her to nestle up so he was holding her from behind. She felt tiny, safe. Safe in the arms of a perceived dangerous man, no a being, to everyone but her. His fingertips were brushing her upper arm and she was breathing steadily, trying not show what an effect that had on her. She realised they never talked about their kiss on the balcony or indeed when he kissed her in front of Maze just barely a few hours ago. Where they developing something that despite it all, she still wanted? She was lying on her bed, in the arms of a man she had told that she loved and he was breathing gently against her hair. He was so warm as well.

She felt his hand rest on her hip, the one she had landed on when they fell and she gasped ever so slightly. He could hear the pain in her voice. "It's just a bruise, nothing more" she whispered before he could speak, feeling him gently just move her vest out of the way, turning down the elastic of her pants an inch or two to see.

"That's not_ just_ a bruise" he noted. It was the size of a saucer, a mottled purple and black. She breathed in again as he touched it, probably pressing a tad too much and she caught her breath again. "Sorry" he replied, covering her hip up again, resting his hand back over the area of the bruise again.

"I'm going to have to go back to work tomorrow" she said. "I can't stay off sick for long. They'll start asking questions". She was surprised that she had not heard from Dan today just to ask after her welfare.

He nodded. "Do you object if I stay here? I have no desire to return to Lux for a while. Not after today's events." He feared he would take it out on Maze just like he had done before. If Chloe had not been there he would have done.

"Not at all" she replied. "You can stay as long as you wish, or need".

"Thank you" Lucifer responded, pressing his lips to the back of her head not afraid at all that she could find the Devil in such a weak state. Out of everyone, she was his true being and he felt no shame in it.

Chloe sighed and shifted her whole body finding a comfortable spot with his arms around her neck and middle. She watched the night sky for a moment out of the window, heavy navy clouds, moving across her vision with stars sprinkled against their backdrop. She shifted again, feeling him move backwards slightly. Confused she moved with him, desperate for him not to disconnect from her, but he shuffled again and away from her. Chloe pressed her lips together, realising what she had felt and determined not to laugh. She was not sure whether she was uncomfortable or not at the feel of his body starting to react to her closeness, pressing briefly into the base of her spine. "It's alright", she replied quietly.

"No its not" he whispered. "I have not seen you for so, so long and I missed you".

"I missed you too" she replied.

"You are not pushing me away. You should push me away", he said, not wanting to let go but he could not trust himself around her any more.

"No I shouldn't and I am not going to" Chloe responded firmly. She reached behind herself and took a handful of the pocket of the pyjama pants he was wearing, pulling him back closer to her. He was looking for comfort from her and she knew it, nor was she afraid to give it. She pressed back slightly, testing him out.

"If you want me, I am here" she breathed. "You can have me".


	10. Chapter 10

She couldn't focus on the screen in front of her. The email from Dan just looked like a ramshackle bundle of letters and numbers that made little to no sense as Chloe stared at them.

It was only ten o'clock in the morning but having only had a handful of hours sleep last night, and the events of the last few days, it had all well and truly crept up on her. Chloe blinked again, the noise of the station seeming so distant as she tried to concentrate. She closed her eyes again and shifted in her seat, desperate to try to at least offer the appearance that she was working. She was a professional after all but the noise in her head was almost overwhelming. A second later she heard a scratch and on opening her eyes, she saw Dan bearing a bottle of water under his arm, a cup of coffee and two small white pills in his hand. "I couldn't work out whether you were tired, it was still the migraine or you were hungover. I think I covered every eventuality possible..."

Chloe smiled and threw the painkillers down her throat, followed by a mouthful of water. _Anything to see if it made her feel better than she did now._ She was tired, but the fact that she had been awake for most of what was left of last night when she and Lucifer had made love that was actually the least of her concerns. She had expected their first time to be well a little _wilder_, knowing who he was, but as it transpired and the fact it was so tender and simple temporarily eased her heart into peace. Just to have those moments; hearing him breathing her name into her ear might just be the goodbye she needed, and indeed wanted. It might well have been a one-off for all she knew but it was not that which concerned her, it was his news of Eve that was truly troubling her.

"So what do you think?" Dan asked sitting in front of her.

"Of what?" she replied, shifting the coffee to a coaster.

"The email", he responded, tapping her computer screen. He was more than concerned about her now. She just did not look right; pale, troubled and perhaps even more than she had been before. "I actually think we are onto something with the CCTV in the gas station. That guy was there ten minutes before they think the victim died and..." he paused, seeing her eyes starting to glaze over. "Plus the fact he had a purple Mohican only serves to top off the witnesses story that she saw him jump off the Golden Gate bridge wearing an elephant costume".

"Did he?" she replied, still trying to read the screen but not a letter was registering.

Dan shook his head. Now he was worried even more. "Chlo...Chloe!" Her head snapped up. "If you still don't feel well, go home or go and see the M.E". He swallowed, wondering if he was about to tread on shaky ground. "Or go and see Linda".

"No" she replied, shaking her head. "I'm fine Dan. Honestly".

"You are not".

"I am" she responded, voice a touch harsher this time as if she ended telling him she would only open up a whole host of trouble. He thought so little of Lucifer as it was and thought even less of him for 'shipping out' as he had put it. "So do you think we have the guy on CCTV?" she asked.

Dan nodded. "The gas station is only 5 minutes walk away from the cemetery. He fits the guy that was seen standing by the gates too. I said we would go and see the gates witness again early tomorrow morning before we go to that training course. Just to flesh out a few things".

"Thanks Dan" she smiled, reaching across to squeeze his hand. She had clean forgotten about the firearms training. "I'll feel better tomorrow. Be of more use to you".

"We'll see" he replied. "Drink that water and that coffee". He departed with a smile and a promise to himself that he would be checking on her later. At least if she was with him all day tomorrow he could keep an eye on her. Make sure she rested, make sure she ate.

Chloe decided to pull herself together, blinking at his email again and trying to make sense of it all. She had about two minutes of silence when a voice spoke to her. She had not noticed the figure arrive."I want to apologise. For yesterday"

Chloe looked up to find Maze sitting opposite her, arms folded and looking rather contrite for a demon. "I am sorry Decker, but he _infuriates_ me so much that it just...". She waved her hands unable to find the words that truly, succinctly described just to what degree she wanted to kill him.

Chloe smiled. "You have nothing to be forgiven for". She was genuine in that respect. "It was a normal human emotion".

"I do" Maze replied. Human emotion? Nah..."I should never have gone for you. You hadn't been hiding him".

"Maze, its fine, really" Chloe responded. "You had a shock. We both did..."

Maze was genuinely grateful and made her excuses to go. She had a nightclub to stocktake after all. "By the way, Decker, look like crap..."

Chloe laughed once and threw an eraser from her desk at the departing figure before she pulled her keyboard towards her, deciding it was time to knuckle down. She had only been off for a day, but the 100 or more emails that were taunting her said otherwise. Carefully she trimmed away the junk leaving a slightly more respectable number; a few screaming Urgent in their subject line but most she could work through methodically. Ten minutes or so later of forcing herself to ignore the feeling in her head that she could only describe as disconnection, her cell that had been put face down on her desk, vibrated.

She flipped it over to find a text from Lucifer. _'Come home'_

Panicked it might be Trixie and feeling a palpitation in her chest, she threw a text back at him. _'Why? What's happened?'_

_'__Nothing. I'm bored'_

Chloe rolled her eyes and breathed pointedly. She did not want to get into a round of text-tennis with him right now. Whilst he might be sitting around, she had a lot of work to do and she couldn't afford it any longer. He was worse than Trixie.

_'__You're a distraction'_

_'__I know. So come home'_

_'__You also know I can't'_

Her cell fell silent for a few minutes. She was too distracted by the mountain of emails she had to engage further but her fingers twitched when she received no reply.

_'__Lucifer?'_

_'__I'm here' _

Before she could reply another text arrived, a much longer one, and as she read over it, her cheeks reddened. She could only describe it as a very explicit description of what he would like to do to her when her day was over or earlier if he had his way. Chloe slammed the phone face down on her desk again, praying nobody was watching. So maybe last night was not a one-off after all. He must have been typing it in his silence.

Her only response was _'Stop it'_. That text was more than R rated. Thank god, Trixie did not know her pin-code. She texted again wanting to make sure she had not offended him. _'I love you, but not time nor place'_. It felt so natural to tell him she loved him, particularly after last night but she was also slightly disturbed. That was the old Lucifer again; the free with his favors, naughty, downright filthy Lucifer. They had so much more to discuss and despite them being at least physically closer than ever, she really wondered whether she would be able to reach him, get him to talk to her properly. Promises and reality were different bed fellows.

A minute later her phone vibrated again to find a single heart.

_"__Fool"_ she whispered under her breath, but the handful of texts from him at home waiting for her seemed to have calmed her until her phone vibrated again. "For heavens..."

Instead she found a text from Linda. _"How are you today?'_

Chloe only had one answer and it was Dan that had put the question into her head. _'Can I come and see you later? I need to talk'_

Just as soon as she put her phone down to wait for the therapist's response, Dan appeared again. "Hey, Chlo, we've got a hit on the guy in the gas station. You coming?" Finding strength, she got up downing a mouthful of rapidly cooling coffee and shot out of the station with him, returning there just over an hour later with an uptick on Dan's arrest rate and a surprisingly quick resolution. Maybe now she could dispose of some of these emails.

Later on that afternoon, forgetting to eat lunch, Chloe slid into her seat opposite Linda.

"How are you?" It was always the therapists opening question and with Chloe it either caused the floodgates to open or a stuttering silence.

"Lucifer is back. He came back the day before yesterday" the Detective offered. She needed to tell someone otherwise it might just have burst out to the one person that she did not want to know.

Linda's eye widened and she smiled widely. "That is good news. It is good news?"

"Oh yes" Chloe responded, nodding her head fervently. "Completely, but..." She pinched the bridge of her nose and she breathed in and out, puffing out her cheeks, trying to muster up the courage. "I don't know how long for and..." She could feel tears forming in her eyes but she needed to get it out. Chloe pressed her hands together and shook herself, trying to concentrate, finding a focus in a picture of Charlie on the therapist's table. "He is in such a state, Linda. Cuts, bruises, burns... whip marks. I don't know where to start with him. He says Eve did it".

"Eve? As in..." Linda was shocked to put it mildly.

"Yes". She did believe him. She did, but she didn't _understand._

"Wow" Linda replied. "That is ...wow! Just... wow! But you are not sure how to deal with it?" she asked, seeing her patient nod. "Well my first suggestion would be to give him time. That is your first port of call. Don't push him..."

"I know that", Chloe sighed. "I've tried but I want him to tell me so I can help him. But after he told me, this morning he was behaving like Lucifer again. Like nothing had happened. Like he hadn't just reappeared after nearly a year". She wasn't about to tell her that he sent her the dirtiest text message imaginable, nor that when she left for work that morning he had been more than chipper. Trying to distract himself?

Linda nodded. "He may feel he has told you all he needs you to know for now or as much as he can offer. He may fear hurting you or scaring you and he is keeping a lid on things". Chloe digested the therapist's words. "But how do _you_ feel about him coming back?"

Chloe hesitated. "I don't know how long he's going to be here for..."

"That wasn't an answer" Linda warned. Chloe had been coming to see her for almost all of that year now, once sometimes twice a week in varying states of distress, but getting her to open up had been a long work in progress.

"I am pleased" Chloe replied. "No I am _happy _he is here. I really am"

"Good"

"Except..." Chloe breathed in; the words sticking in her throat. "When he came back, when I saw him at first, I thought I was losing my mind, hallucinating and I have _never_ been so scared". She swiped her palm across her face, accepting a tissue that was passed to her. "Yesterday, he and Maze had a fight and I just zoned out in front of them. I've never felt it before and it was...it was terrifying that I was just sitting there in this daze. I could barely hear them and this morning, I was trying to look...just looking through emails and I wasn't...I wasn't _seeing_ them..."

"Chloe you know we have touched on this before" Linda responded her voice calm and quiet. She could see her patient pulling at the sleeve of her jacket.

"Lucifer saw it all" she replied, trying to focus again but feeling that disconnect creeping back up on her. "He brought me out of it, both times, but..." Chloe lent forward, her head in her hands. "I just feel...it's like I'm not here and I'm going to make a mistake at work or something will happen to Trixie and it'll be my fault! It's like it was again when he left..."

Linda heard every word and she was right. From last week to this, it was clear that Chloe's distress levels had increased. They had reached a place of at least attempting to move on but no this was ten paces back. "What you describe to me are classic symptoms of PTSD, Chloe. We have discussed Anxiety too. The anniversary could well have triggered something that so far you have managed to keep hidden or at least partially controlled", Linda explained. Chloe nodded carefully. "His reappearance might have awakened something too. You need to tell him how you are feeling. How him going and indeed coming back has impacted on you. How it as all affected you too".

Chloe just shook her head. "I don't want to burden him. I don't want to be talking of negative things if he is only here for a while". _He has enough to be concerned about and we may not have long...If he goes again I want him have happy memories of me.  
_

"Chloe, you have to find your peace with him. Whatever happens, whether he is here for hours or days or he stays forever, you need to find a common ground and you need to tell him. If you tell him, he may open up more about Eve in turn".

Chloe sat up straight. "Last night. I slept with him".

Linda would admit she was stunned at the frank admission. "Did you intend to do that?"

"No". Her answer was quick and it was partially the truth. It was the last thing on her mind _yesterday._ "It felt right".

"Then it was right" Linda replied until suddenly a thought struck her. "Where you careful?" She put her hands up immediately. "Actually don't answer that question. Awfully intrusive! Who am I to talk about being careful? First mother on earth of a half angel baby?!"

Chloe laughed through her tears. Right now, she didn't care if she became the second one. Her cell buzzed before she could speak further. "Sorry, it might be work", she noted, scrabbling in her pocket balancing her cell and the handful of tissue. Instead of the station though it was another message from Lucifer. _'Where are you?"._

Linda saw the reactive smile that spread across her patient's face. "Was that him?"

"He wants to know where I am", Chloe replied. Her voice was soft, touched that he was concerned and Linda saw the smile that stayed.

"Tell him then" Linda offered.

"No" Chloe replied, putting the cell face down on her lap. "I don't want him to know I've been talking about him." After everything that had happened before he left, her betrayal with Father Kinley, she was going to try, try, try to be as open and honest with him as she could possibly be, but equally he needed to know she was seeing his therapist. That was not a statement for a text message. Even though he seemed to have forgiven her, she had not forgiven herself by any means. She needed to overcome that too and she had, when it came to it, to make it up to him as much as she could now he was here.

"Chloe?" Linda questioned, interrupting her train of thought. "Remember what I said. If you talk to him about how you are feeling, he might talk to you". Linda could see that she was carefully digesting the question. "Do you want me to speak to a doctor about medication?" It was one that had been asked before and Linda knew what the response would be. "It may help settle your mood. Make it easier to cope and concentrate,"

"No", Chloe replied, immediately. "I need to be there to help him. I need to be useful to him. I'm going to be what he needs me to be". Linda smiled at her response. "What?"

The therapist shook her head in wonder. "This is the first time you have come here and we have left the session with such a positive statement. It is small steps, Chloe. Some days you will take several back, but you will find your light again".

Just as she was about to get back in the car to go home Chloe sent a simple text message – a pizza emoji and a question mark. For the first time today - well the first time in a while - she actually felt hungry but was in no mood to cook. Barely a millisecond later, as he must have had his cell in his hands, she received a 'thumbs up' followed by a string of 'xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'.

Chloe smiled. Linda was right.

She did need to find her light.

_She needed to find her Lightbringer._


	11. Chapter 11

"Lucifer...?...Lucifer?"

Chloe called out his name twice, kicking the front door shut; her arms occupied with two pizza boxes and her bag, surprised that he was not in front of the television waiting for her. The house was quiet and Chloe wondered if she should be suspicious. Perhaps he had gone out, he may even be in the yard, the shower anywhere. Perhaps he had just not heard her. Hopefully he was just upstairs asleep.

She put the pizza boxes down on the breakfast bar and dumped her bag beside them, her back to the living room. "If you are hiding from me, Lucifer Morningstar..." she warned, her voice teasing.

"Now why would I do that?" Lucifer replied as she turned and bumped face first into him. He was standing perhaps six inches away from her and she had not heard him approach.

Chloe placed her palms on his chest and bit her tongue to avoid swearing or shouting. She knew occasionally loud noises would make her jump now and whatever she felt, this anxiety, he must feel a thousand times worse. The things he must have seen... The things that must he going on in his head..."Hello" she smiled instead, flexing her palms against dark shirt he wore and feeling his overwhelming presence in her space. It was almost as though he was taller since the last saw him.

"Hello" he replied, sliding his hands over her face, pulling her in for a kiss. Chloe relaxed for the first time all day as his tongue swept along her lips. He was still here. It seemed he still wanted her. For a minute, she indulged in that feeling of completeness that settled in her stomach, pushing away all the nagging interference of her mind until the smell of food drifted between them. He gently broke the kiss, almost not wanting to stop. "Is that food, I spy?" Lucifer asked.

"Yes" she smiled, slightly bedazzled before he pulled her in close to his chest. "I got us a Spanish and a Little Italy. There's soda there too". If she was lining her arteries with cholesterol she may as well go the whole hog with sugar and he didn't have to worry after all, did he?

"How very European" Lucifer noted peering over the top of her head, resting his chin as she burrowed closer. "Although I am rather pleased you left the pineapple behind. Such an obnoxious concoction if ever there was one".

"It's not _that _bad" she protested, pushing gently against him.

"You disgust me Detective, you truly do...my palette is offended by the thought" he teased, a look of faux horror on his face, "but I can forgive you". The words dissolved into a breath on her neck now and Chloe closed her eyes, more than ready to indulge again before quickly catching herself.

"I need a shower" she moaned, torn but it had been such an awful day, she needed that moment of quiet when it was her and her alone just to wash and scrub it away. She pushed against him again, slightly harder this time.

"I told you what my plans were. You read that text, I saw you read it. You know showers are for later". His words were muffled by her hair and she felt like giving in again as little sparks spilled over her skin. "And before you say it, you do have a microwave for the pizza. I've seen it and it is functional..."

"You?" she asked, incredulous, pulling away from him so she could look him in the eye. "Actually eating something that was nuked in a microwave?" She fought slightly again and he let go of her to walk to the other side of the breakfast bar. He did not seem too concerned. "I am going to shower and get changed" she said. "You know your duty..." Chloe tapped the pizza boxes with her fingernails and on the way upstairs, vaguely realised the whole downstairs was tidier than normal. He had told her he was bored.

Multiple slices of pizza later, Chloe was pleased she had put on track pants with an elasticated waist. "I think I'm about to explode" she muttered throwing the last crust into the box that was scattered with bits of piquanté peppers and an alarming level of grease staining the cardboard. In response she just heard Lucifer chuckle through a mouthful of pizza himself before he slid down into the settee and huffed. Yes, he was done too.

They were sitting perhaps two feet apart, her knees pulled up off the floor and he was stretched out. The room itself was in semi-darkness, only lit by the warm glow of two table lamps and moonlight that peaked through the blinds. Chloe had told him about work, talking through the cemetery murder with him and how Dan got his man; told him how Trixie was getting on a school, that Charlie was walking and showed him the myriad of photographs on her cell. She was just like any other proud auntie and Lucifer had listened intently to her stories of what he had missed, a pang of regret in his chest of the things he had missed. As she put her phone down next to the pizza boxes, a silence fell and Chloe would admit it felt ominous. They had covered every topic imaginable in an unconscious avoidance of what ought really to be their conversation. Quietly, Chloe picked up his right hand and saw his nails were almost back to normal. Carefully she perused them as he watched her out of the corner of his eye.

"Chloe..," he started, intent on saying something to break the silence.

"I saw Linda today" she began. "I've been seeing her".

"Seeing her?"

Chloe nodded. "Professionally, not in the biblical sense before you start, but since you left. Once, twice a week. More if I needed it".

"Oh". It was more of a puff of air as he shifted in his seat. He was obviously uncomfortable at the talk of his therapist. Did she know he was back?

"I just needed someone to talk to who would understand and help me understand. I think she did..does. She also thinks I need help...to cope if you went away again". Linda had not said it explicitly but Chloe knew it was true. Could she tell him about the turmoil that her mind now offered her? The panic, the anxiety, the disassociation that would now drag its claws into her on a daily basis. He had seen it - the fight with Maze, her drunkenness - but could she describe it. She struggled enough telling Linda and she was not as close to heart than he was.

"I can't answer how long I am staying, Detective". Detective AGAIN. She knew it was his way of distancing himself from her at times but it truly felt like a stab in her heart now, particularly as they were stepping closer together as each new day seemed to pass.

"I know you can't" she replied, still carefully brushing her thumbs of over the back of his hand. "And the last thing I want to do is burden you, but I need to be honest".

"Then be honest" he whispered, moving his hand away to put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close as she shuffled across. Lucifer knew that he had responsibilities and they had to be faced; they were being faced. Her knees were on his lap.

Chloe took a deep breath. "When you went..." she began, desperate beyond imagination not to cry, "I felt so guilty, so damn _stupid_ that I let Kinley get to me; that I let him manipulate me into thinking, denying what I already knew about you. Actually made me believe the lies he was spouting". She was still angry and that was the problem. Anger at Kinley and herself; not Lucifer for going. No matter how much it hurt, she did understand why. "That was the worst thing. I might have been able to cope, in time, with you gone if it was just that, but I wasted so much precious time. I should have told you I loved you the second I saw you again. But I didn't. I knew I did deep down but something wouldn't let me accept it".

"That so called son of God caught you when you were vulnerable; you were scared". He had thought about the situation a lot when he had time on his hands and those hours to ruminate on his decision. Before she..._Eve_...arrived. "Do you want me to forgive you, because if you want me to, I will...I can". She knew he did not lie.

Chloe looked up. "Thank you , Lucifer". She did not ask him to though but he had other plans.

"I do forgive you, but I think the most important thing is you forgive yourself" he mused, gently brushing her hair out of the way with his other hand. He feared that was going to be much harder for her. His nails hurt no longer as he settled her hair against her shoulder. At least his other wounds he could hardly see.

"I don't think I can" she sighed. It had been nearly a year to the day and she still hated herself for what she had done. "Not yet".

"Chloe, at the end of life you are answerable to yourself and, well, Dad. I want you to forgive yourself, believe me I do", Lucifer pleaded. She could feel him breathing in and out and he was calm. From that she drew a peace.

She smiled, pushing back tears. "You are so...so understanding to me in my pathetic human way. I can't believe I let him... I am so angry with myself", she said, curling up closer to him, resting her palm on his chest. She could feel his heart beating regularly underneath her skin.

"Chloe look at me". She looked up again, resting her chin. "Whatever happens to me, I will always live. I have lived for so long. You, Chloe Jane Decker, only have one life. You don't have to wait around for me and however long it takes for me to sort this abominable mess out".

Chloe straightened her spine, pulling away from him slightly. That was _not _going to happen, even thought she actually did not know what the 'mess' was about. "Hear this Lucifer Morningstar" she began, not letting him look away. "I love you. I am waiting and I want to help you in whatever little way I can".

Lucifer smiled. "And I can't change your mind, I know that my stubborn detective" he smiled, rubbing his thumb over her chin. "I should know you never let anything go".

"I want to help you but you have to tell me how to". The plea was straightforward. "I can solve murders, some of the disgusting things us humans get up to, but celestial business is firmly yours and I need you to guide me, you have to guide me".

Lucifer sighed and frowned, vaguely looking across the room towards the fire. "I am not sure how much you can help".

"Try me" she responded. It was the slightest hint of a challenge and she saw Lucifer glance at the clock. It was almost 9 and Chloe waited for the excuse. She would not be surprised if he just avoided the subject. Instead, he breathed out, forcing air from his lungs.

"I can't precisely escape the fact you saw the state of me the other day and you have questions, I know that". He had promised the unvarnished truth to her and yes, he did need to tell her. "I don't know how long I had been gone, in your terms" he started, "but I remember one day being woken up by the most horrendous shouting; banging of cell doors, screaming, yelling. It sounded like a riot was going on. When I investigated she was there._ Eve_. Dancing through Hell, dressed all in white and waltzing along, singing, like she had no care in the world". He swallowed. He was still not able to comprehend it all but it had been a red rag to a bull. "The demons were salivating over her, trying to grab her so I moved her to a place of safety. I knew she couldn't have got there on her own and I threatened to throw her back out to them if she didn't tell me who brought her". He remembered it well, the fury building up inside him that she had followed him again, not wanting to do it but if he had to? This place was _his_.

Lucifer shifted in his seat again, sliding down a little further on the settee.

"She refused to tell me and I, well that slice of humanity you taught me meant I gave her her own rooms and left her be in safety until I could think about what to do with her. I could hardly take her back up to heaven". He licked his lips as Chloe listened in silence. "She wanted to be involved, to help me". He paused. Just how _stupid_ had he been! "At first...I was so naive Detective. Me, the devil! _Naive._ I had seen the worst scum humanity can offer and I let her...I let her help with punishments, but she wanted more. Then she went missing...". He still remembered the dread as it washed from head to foot that he might just find a body, picked over by the unsavoury residents he was sent to control.

"And?" Chloe asked.

"I heard rumours of another celestial being there", he offered.

"Michael?"

Lucifer nodded. "One day, she suddenly reappeared out of nowhere. When she came back, it was almost as though a switch had been flipped in her. She was cruel now, crueller in her punishments, doing things I had not authorised. I tried, I found myself trying to find the good in people almost automatically, even those sent to me and maybe I was, perhaps, more aware of how lenient I was being but she was..." He struggled with the words to describe the pure horror that had crept up on him unrequested. "She confessed to me that Michael had brought her..."

"I don't understand though" she replied. "You were millions of what, miles away? She was able to harm you." Was he going to tell her the details?

Lucifer looked guilty. "When I left" he started. "I took something of yours with me". Chloe's heart clenched. "I took your bullet necklace". _ I needed a memory, something tangible of you. _In truth Chloe had made a conscious decision to not wear it as having it, wearing it, was too much to cope with and it had lain unworn. The necklace had been in a drawer where Trixie would not find it as far as she had known and she had not thought, nor had reason, to look for it again. If she had looked, it would not have been there. "I think having it with me, part of you with me made me vulnerable even so far away". It was the only explanation he could think of.

"I make you weak" she muttered. Guilt rose up from deep inside her for a moment until he interrupted and shook his head.

"No, certainly not" he replied firmly, probably too firmly. "I made choices. They were misguided about Eve, but not about you". Chloe smiled at him, but she did not quite believe him. A second passed and she forced away a yawn. "Am I boring you Detective?" Lucifer asked. His voice was quiet without a single scrap of levity or hurt. She just shook her head. "If you are I'd suggest we tidy up and go to bed even if it is far too early."

"You want to stay with me tonight?" Chloe asked. She still thought it was a one off.

Lucifer looked confused for a moment. "Of course I do. Why do you think i won't?"

"Because" she started. "You could go back to Lux; have anyone in there you liked. I don't...I'm not..." She was stammering now.

"Come here" he said, leaning across as his lips gently parted hers and he felt her relax. All of sudden, once matters were starting to become more heated, she moved closer to the back of the settee, moving her knee out of the way and she hissed in pain. He broke away seeing her put her hand on her hip. "Is that still sore?" he asked. Chloe nodded before she reached for him again, too interested in his kiss to worry a moment more.

"Stand up" he said taking hold of her lower arms and keeping her away from him.

"Lucifer..." she pleaded. It was like music to his years but he repeated himself.

_"Stand up."_

She did reluctantly and he turned her so her left hip was facing him. He pulled the side of her track pants down maybe six inches, and exposed the bruise, dissected by the thin strip of elastic that counted as her knickers.

"It's still black" he noted, pressing a thumb, he thought gently against it. The blood underneath her skin was rock hard and she breathed in quickly him speedily realising his error. Lucifer leaned forward and gently kissed the marred skin, turning her hips so she was facing him. His tongue ran along the less than horizontal line of her track pants hands pulling the other side down now, intent on apologising in probably the only way that he knew. His eyes flashed up, watching her reaction; making sure of her reaction and that he was free to do as he intended. Chloe was looking down through her hair, watching him in fascination, her stomach muscles contracting underneath him and he heard her bite back a deep sigh which he took as permission. That was, until he stopped abruptly, head swinging towards the front door.

"What?" she asked, her voice shaking out of fear and lust.

"I can here footsteps" Lucifer replied, still having tight hold of her hips.

"Footsteps?" she whispered, pulling up her clothes.

"Footsteps". He turned towards the front door, trying to tune into the noise, just to make sure. "Are you expecting visitors?.

"No" Chloe replied, starting to panic, knowing what she knew now. Who was to say he had not been followed and hunted down? If it was Mom and Trixie, they would be fine. It was Dan she was worried about too.

She ran across to the door, Lucifer standing to her side and out of the view of the window. He couldn't well answer the door, could he? Chloe peered through the spy hole and breathed a sigh of relief. "Its fine", she said unlocking the door to find a figure in a sharp suit. "Raphael?"

The celestial looked at her. "Miss Decker, you must excuse me attending you on such a late hour" he began solemnly. "You were the only place I could turn".

Lucifer had recognised his brother's voice and stepped forward to greet him not letting a confused Chloe speak any further. "Brother?"

"Samael", he offered, surprise evident in his voice, yet Chloe saw Lucifer flinch before the visitor reached forward to hug his younger brother. "I must apologise and term you appropirately. _Lucifer_".

"What happened to you, brother?" Lucifer asked. In the better light he could see the sleeve of the jacket was ripped and he was covered in what looked like a thin layer of dust.

Raphael straightened up and placed his hands on his brothers shoulders, anchoring himself before he spoke.

"Michael, dear brother" he replied, his voice tired and heavy. _"Michael happened to me"._


	12. Chapter 12

What was her life coming to?

Sitting in her living room, past 9 at night with two divine beings and wondering what on Heaven, Hell or Earth was coming next. If she had not known it to be true, Chloe may have been hallucinating. She knew however, that this time, she was not.

Chloe was sat on a single chair, legs pulled up to her chest and waiting with anxious breath for one of the brothers to speak. One was opposite to her; the other to her side where he had been sitting all night gorging on too much soda and pizza. She felt sick the moment she saw the grave look on Raphael's face and the dust that covered him and curling up tightly in a ball, she felt safer. Small and tucked away so nobody would notice. Equally though, she was pleased and relieved, for now, that she had not had to play referee to the two angels who had clearly not seen each other in such a long time.

"Brother", Raphael finally started, breaking the awkward silence that had descended. "Do you think this might be a discussion to be had away from the human?" His face still carried that concerned, nay worried, expression still.

Lucifer saw Chloe look at him with a deeply unsure look on her face waiting to be dismissed. "No", he replied simply, keeping eye contact with her. "Chloe stays". This was all to do with honesty, remember? Now was a good a time as any to start.

Raphael sighed at his brother's obstinacy. Nothing had changed then clearly; not even several millennia. "As you wish", Raphael replied reluctantly before he cleared his throat. "I imagine Miss Decker told you we have met before".

"Yes" Lucifer responded, just catching Chloe's eye again trying to reassure her. He could see that she was almost shrinking.

"I came here on a mission for Father...I ran into Michael too". Whilst he may be a sibling, Michael was the last person that Raphael expected to find on earth. He was not even sure he would have found Lucifer if it were not for the Miracle Child.

"Where is he?" Lucifer's question was blunt and said far too quickly for Chloe's liking.

"Here. In Los Angeles".

"Here?" There was a definite crack in the Devil's voice. "Did he follow you tonight?" Lucifer asked, suddenly nervous that he might be waiting outside. He might not know himself if he saw that particular brother again and nobody should be exposed to that eruption; especially the woman to his right.

"No" Raphael replied shaking his head. "I cannot sense him anywhere around here".

"Good" Lucifer responded frowning before he had a burning question. "So what are you here for brother?"

"Father sent me to collect Eve" Raphael began before he was interrupted.

"The artefact?" Chloe asked her voice high in her surprise. She remembered the conversation in the station.

"No Miss Decker" Raphael replied, addressing her directly. His voice was calm, soothing. "I told you the truth about the artefact, but Eve was a quest that I felt I had best not share. It was better that way and I did not know what you were aware of with regards to her. Anyway I could not find her, but I found you and met Michael. Her scent had taken me to him. I was surprised as best and I felt it best to warn you Miss Decker, hence my presence tonight". _Bearing in mind my brother's history._

"Well if you had asked me straight away I could have told you where Eve was. In Hell". Lucifer, whilst he appreciated his brother's concern for Chloe, this sudden familial descent on his life was one he did wish for or require.

"I know that now; Michael told me tonight", Raphael stated. "It led into a brief incident between us, as you can see", he said, brushing dust off the arms of his jacket with a level of barely disguised disgust of himself that he had stooped so low. "Lucifer, when Eve went missing Michael went missing shortly afterwards. Adam was, is, somewhat peeved that his wife had well...disappeared and Father believed she would have gone to you, so he sent me here to you to find you gone too and no trace of her". Raphael was treading carefully. He could feel the adrenaline rushing around the Miracle Child's body as she sat opposite, keeping the pretence of calm. As his brother was insistent she stayed, he pressed on as carefully as possible. "What I did not expect was that Adam had asked Michael to do the same – that's why he – Michael- went missing in the first place. Father was furious that Adam had asked Michael to find her without his prior knowledge and asked me to follow, to look for her too for he feared the outcome for you both. Whilst I collected the artefact I could do that, but, why he took her to Hell, I am truly stumped".

"So is he looking for me too now?" Lucifer asked. His shoulders were tense and as he sat, Lucifer was trying to keep his breathing under control.

Raphael looked over at Chloe who raised her eyebrows at him.

"I believe that is a logical conclusion", he replied, still unsure what the human knew. "He knows you are connected to that terrible 'night' 'club' and he tells me he has been there"

"In Lux?" Lucifer, almost choking and panic washed over Chloe's face. _She could have seen him, met him, talked to him and been unaware he was Lucifer's brother. Unaware that she might have been in danger._

"You and he are a combination that, in all honesty I dread to think what will happen" Raphael replied before he saw his brother smile.

"Maze will take him to pieces if I don't get to him first".

"You have that demon with you?" Raphael asked genuinely shocked and to a degree quite appalled that he had brought such a feral creature to earth with him.

"Yes, she followed me. Rather effective bodyguard she has been to me too", he replied proudly.

"Well if I have to be anything Lucifer I am, strangely, comforted by that fact". Lucifer and Chloe could tell from his face that he did not mean that at all. "Finding you Samael" Raphael started, Lucifer letting the reference to his real name go. "I did not expect to see you tonight or at all, but I ought to have known you would be near the Miracle Child in the end". In a city of strangers, he had connected to her. He needed her help.

Lucifer nodded before he sat up straight. It was the only place he _could _go. "Chloe go up to bed" he said suddenly, a terseness in his voice that she had not heard before. She had clearly heard how Raphael referred to her and was ready to protest with a piquing curiousity. Miracle child? Me? "I will be five minutes", he concluded although he was not entirely sure she was listening, so instead he got up, leant down and kissed her, deliberately forcing her lips apart holding tight onto her jaw. It was by no means a peck. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his brother swiftly look at the floor.

"Well", Chloe replied, hesitating eyes flashing between each brother but knowing she had to do what Lucifer asked, but equally_ horrifically_ curious now. He had that look on his face. "Well", she said, getting up. "Goodnight Raphael. It was pleasure to meet you again"

"It has been an honor to meet you again too Miss Decker" Raphael replied, standing up as she left the room.

Chloe smiled sleepily, rubbing her eyes as she walked up stairs and Lucifer sat down again, where she had been, elbows on his knees and Raphael sat too. "Are you interacting with the Miracle Child?" he asked, seeing his brother rub his palms over his face and through his hair.

Lucifer was confused and his head snapped up. "Interacting? If you mean talking to, sitting next to, eating with, trying to make her smile, well yes I am."

"You know perfectly well what I mean" Raphael warned. He may well have been the youngest brother of the three, but there was many a time that Raphael felt the oldest, most mature when it came to Lucifer and Michael in particular. He was certainly the most sensible.

The side of Lucifer's mouth curled up in a mischievous smile. "Ah. You mean social intercourse?"

"Lucifer..."

"Right then, if that is the case, you must mean having sex with her?" Lucifer was to the point if nothing else and he could see his brother becoming more and more uptight as each second passed.

"If you must describe it in such a base way, Lucifer, yes"

"Raphie, you are such a prude. Yes, I am 'having sex' with the Miracle Child. Your point is what?" The words had been joined by his fingers making quotation marks in the air. "Although I prefer to use the words making love when it quite aptly _comes_ to Chloe, but if we must be blunt about it..."

"You know what happened to Amenediel", Raphael responded. That was another of Father's concerns.

"Amenediel seems rather happy according to Chloe. He has a family that finally loves him for what he is", Lucifer replied and he saw the words stung Raphael, his face twitching in regret at all that had gone on before.

"All I am saying brother is be careful. She, Miss Decker, particularly is an unknown quantity when it comes to celestial interaction". That was the one thing he was afraid of. Father may have caused her birth but had he thought this out fully?

"And Chloe is not stupid. She has a child already and knows how to prevent them". _I know I can't have children...that was part of Father's 'package deal' so dear brother you have nothing to worry about. We are not going to create some kind of divine all consuming being that will take over the world from the moment it is born. You are perfectly safe.  
_

"Lucifer all I am saying is be careful of her. Father does not want the Miracle Child harmed in this", Raphael pleaded. Lucifer knew he was speaking the truth and to be frank, if someone tried it, they would have to get through him and he nodded. Raphael shook his head despairingly. "You are wounded, I sense it. You would not be able to fight Michael, or anyone, now and I know who did it to you which is why she must be retrieved in any way possible"

Lucifer dropped his head again. "You are good, Brother. Very good. I will give you that".

"I can only protect you or heal you so far. You have to sort it out this dispute with Michael and with Adam once and for all". Raphael was firm and Lucifer knew it had to be done. He wanted to stay on Earth after all.

"Are you going to see Amenediel?" Lucifer asked, wondering whether he should speak to him first, or at least speak to Linda first. Raphael simply nodded. "So do you have somewhere to stay brother?" He was not sure how Chloe might react to a house guest, particularly not of the angelic kind but if he was going to make amends with anyone in his family, Raphie was as good a place to start as any.

"I must report to Father tonight". Raphael hesitated, getting up to go. "But we will speak again?"

Lucifer nodded and stood up too, accepting his brother's arms around his shoulders in a goodbye and before he went upstairs, Lucifer checked all the locks; blinds and curtains closed. As he went upstairs, finally satisfied the place was secure, Lucifer was going to do the same in her bedroom except she stopped him, or rather, the fact she was sitting in the middle of the bed, legs crossed and waiting for him; that is what stopped him. Lucifer crawled across the bed to her, kissing her very briefly on the lips before sitting down. "He's gone". She had a strange look on her face, not flinching even when he drew his nails up and down the inside of her bare thigh to try to catch her attention. "Are you alright?"

"What?" she said, eyes flashing open and closed as though she had only just realised he was there. "What did you say?"

"Chloe" he responded, brushing a thumb over her cheek. "Did you hear me shut the door or come up the stairs?"

Chloe swallowed. "No". She knew she had zoned out again, confused and unsure. She in truth had no recollection of getting up the stairs herself, nor that she had changed for bed. It was only his touch that brought her back to him. How much time had she lost?

"Maybe Linda is right", he mused, careful for once of his choice of words.

"Oh no, Lucifer" Chloe replied, fully awake and aware now. "I am not jumping down that rabbit-hole. Get changed for bed".

"If you insist" he replied, even though his voice was heavy with worry. He got up unbuttoning his shirt and let it fall.

"Lucifer!" Chloe exclaimed, kneeling up on the bed and shuffling across to where he was standing, facing away from her the cloudiness of the past few moments having rushed away as though it had never been. "Stay there. Your back.. !"

"Is it bleeding again?" he responded, twisting to try and see until he felt her hands on him, palms roaming over his skin.

"No!" she exclaiming, her voice thick with surprise. "There's not a mark on there! Not even a scar..."

Lucifer laughed, his chest giving a brief shudder. "My brother Raphael in one simple sample for you, Chloe". _When he hugged me. _

Chloe frowned as she ran her eyes over his back, up and down, checking, but his skin was smooth and soft again. "He did this?"

"Must have done". _He said I was too weak to fight. So he did something about it. Always Raphael. Quiet Raphael._

He felt her palm slide down his back and rest on the edge of his belt. "Come on get changed come to bed. I want you to tell me about you and Michael. In full". Chloe sat back down, legs crossed still as she was before and expectant.

"What do I get in exchange?" he asked, almost leering at her as he put the shirt into the washing basket and bent down to remove his socks.

"I'll tell you when you've told me" she replied bluntly.

A bathroom trip later and he was sitting opposite her on the bed. "Okay" he started, determined she would hear it only from him. It was his responsibility after all. "Michael and I had a falling out. I was defeated and that was how I ended up in Hell. In short. He was lesser than me, or so I believed and the battle, it resulted in me being locked out of heaven".

Chloe digested his words carefully. It was on over-simplification but nevertheless it served its purpose. "And you er ...had...erm... " Chloe was struggling how to describe his relationship with Eve. In the end she came up with a phrase the Lucifer mentally noted for future use. "You had a_ sexual altercation _with Eve who was, is, married to Adam" Chloe continued. She needed to get this set out in some logical way in her mind and the best way to do it was treat it in the best way she knew how. He nodded. "So...where was Eve going to go if she came to Earth?"

"To me" he replied, shifting a little to get more comfortable. "Which she did".

"And if Adam has a beef with you, he is going to ask the one person, well angel, who defeated you once to get his wife back. He might think he could defeat you again, except his wife has gone rogue in the meantime".

"How basic" Lucifer commented. "But entirely logical. Adam was always a touch dense, but perhaps he is not as _stupid_ as I thought".

"Let's think this through..." Chloe responded, looking him dead in the eye. Underneath it all she knew how well they worked together and she had missed it. "Imagine we've just been presented with a new case. A murder with no body, say" she started, wishing she had a pad and pen to hand. "Eve has been formally made a Missing Person by the..." She was not sure how to describe it. "By the...God-police, yes?" She saw him nod. "You have you, a former lover who she has not seen for years, but she appears back again in your life suddenly and you reform a relationship. We have her husband Adam who you say is not the sharpest tool in the box". Lucifer nodded again. "You lured his wife from him once, had sex with her and got them kicked out of their home by their landlord and then she runs back to you again. He is bound to be unhappy with you, even though if he had not so been weak himself, he could have stopped it all".

"I am not disagreeing so far Detective". In fact he was fascinated and slightly aroused. She was on a roll now.

"We have a man – Michael – who has a long term dispute with you who was sent to find Eve by her spurned husband". Chloe paused for breath. "Now we know that Michael and Eve have met each other on the earth plane at some point with all its influences..."

"Sex, drugs, rock and roll, particularly the rock and roll that was me" Lucifer smiled proudly.

"No you didn't" Chloe replied, pulling him back on track. "That was Rosetta Tharpe".

"Amazing woman"

"Stop distracting me" she scolded trying to concentrate. "Then Michael takes Eve to your former home to find you, perhaps, and seemingly leaves her there and she turns on you on some kind of power-trip. So the missing link is what happened between Michael and Eve on the earth plane after she left, when she went missing in Hell and reappeared..."

"You did learnt a lot from Rome" Lucifer was actually quite impressed, no matter what he thought of Kinley. Chloe ignored the comment though. She didn't want to be reminded.

"You were entranced by her. I wonder if she...No", she continued, stopping herself, shaking her head to dismiss the notion.

"Chloe...?" His voice was dripping with warning and she looked to him. He knew he had played around but if planned to stay around, well he had some serious thinking to do regarding the 'm' word. "Come on Detective, you never know when one of those random thoughts in that beautiful head of yours might lead to our breakthrough". How many times had that happened before when they were not talking about the supernatural? "Trust your instincts Detective..." She looked up at him.

"Well..." she considered, wondering if this was too much of a tangent even for Lucifer Morningstar. "What if Michael was just the same when he found her. Entranced. Under a spell. It might explain his behaviour". Lucifer pulled a face but Chloe was determined to talk this though now. "Think about it Lucifer" she began, taking hold of his hands. "You angels do seem to get yourselves involved with us humans. You and Me, you and Eve, Amenedial and Linda. Why could Michael not be influenced too?"

"Your brain is a twisted, yet wonderful place, Detective", he said leaning across, brushing his lips onto her cheek, lips sliding lower as he began to breathe on her neck. In truth, despite his best intentions, his concentration was waning as he seemed far more interested in her short shorts.

"Us humans" she continued, breathing carefully herself, determined not to be distracted as she felt her body shiver. "We have weaknesses. Eve was weak wasn't she? She ate the forbidden fruit. She was persuaded by you. Some might even say that Linda and I were persuaded too". She closed her eyes, that little portion of her giving in to him whilst her brain was still otherwise engaged. Chloe felt his fingertips walk up her thigh again.

Despite the fact he could feel her starting to respond, Lucifer could not help his mind wandering too. He had to tell her just what Eve did – or what she got her minions to do - in all its graphic detail but he could feel the blood thundering in her neck and there were more pressing issues at hand it seemed. He also feared that if he told her, well what would that do to her? He had already found her in a catatonic state with just Raphael and she still hadn't asked about the 'Miracle Child' yet.

What would she be like when she learned the absolute truth? He would have to speak to Linda first about it he felt; find a way without hurting her even more.

"Chloe? Do you want to talk some more?" he asked, praying her answer was 'no'. _Please do not ask why you are the Miracle Child. Not tonight._

He didn't see the face she pulled. "Not really" she said in the end. "You can carry on just...just doing that if you like".

All she felt was the breath on her neck again and a deep, deep laugh as his hands arrived on her shoulders, gently pushing her downwards.

They had time, not much, but still had time. She would ask more tomorrow.


	13. Chapter 13

Oddly for Los Angeles nobody had decided to be murdered since she left the Station yesterday so Chloe had some time to tackle that pile of paperwork that was staring menacingly at her on the corner of her desk.

Today that dense feeling in her chest had eased a touch. Maybe it was because Trixie was home tomorrow at last or the fact that her body was still humming happily from his attentions this morning. Maybe it was those short shorts but how he could find her elbow deep in washing the breakfast dishes a turn on she never knew. All of a sudden, as she leant across and took up another file, Chloe had a flash of her own white knuckles gripping the edge of the sink and the chair she was in suddenly jolted on its wheels by the inadvertent flick of her hips.

A cough broke her out of her haze; or so she thought. "Are you alright, Chlo?"

She looked up to find her ex-husband standing by her desk, a grave look on his face. It was almost as though she did not recognise him. He had walked past once, seeing her staring into space and contemplated getting the M.E. there and then, or at least Ella. Dumping the files he had in his arms on his desk he returned maybe a minute later to find her the same. She was still glazed over, looking at nothing.

Dan rounded the desk and knelt on the floor just enough to reach up and put his arm around her shoulders. "Chlo..." he started. "Chloe?" he asked again squeezing her shoulder with one hand and the other gently pulling the arm of the chair so she was almost facing him. "Hey..."

"Sorry" she said suddenly, painting on a false smile that she hoped belied the arousal that was pleasantly rushing through her veins. She looked at him expectantly wondering if her face was red, or at worst, her chest. He was her ex-husband; he had seen her in that state before and he would just _know_. At least this time though, whilst she may have been absent, it was not that terrifying whirlwind that seemed to overtake her whole body rendering her mute and so, so scared.

Dan had noticed something strange about her yet again, but if it was anything to do with her mental state she would just brush him off so he simply refrained for now. "I was thinking", he said, still on one knee on the floor. "Do you want me to take Trixie for tomorrow night, not just Saturday?" He was, in all sincerity, trying to help her. She needed rest and a daughter freshly returned from Penelope Decker would be one wired on sugar and expensive presents.

"No it's fine Dan" she replied as he got up and sat on the corner of her desk. "I haven't seen her for two weeks". _I know what my Mom is like and I can deal with it._

"I haven't either. More than that actually" Dan gently reminded her. The arrangements they had for Trixie had been set by the Court but in all honesty the one thing that they had always agreed on was his access to his daughter.

"Sorry", Chloe replied, realising what she had just said as she put her elbows on her desk. She had Trixie three times more than he did. "How about you collect her on Saturday morning, have her Saturday and Sunday nights and take her to school on Monday for the first day of term?" At least if another archangel turned up at her house, Trixie would be miles away and she could deal with it with Lucifer as they saw fit. There were things that her daughter did not need to see and there were things that needed her concentration.

"If you are sure...?" Dan asked. He would admit that he was slightly surprised but he would never look a gift horse in the mouth, particularly as he had a lot to make up for with 'firsts' in his daughter's life

"Of course I am", she replied. "I'm just being selfish, Dan. She's your daughter too".

Dan smiled, genuinely grateful to her. "Well, I accept. I'll tell her later. Now, do you want me to get you some lunch? Just going to run over to Gino's". He was in the mood for waffles; no pastrami and pickles. Actually no, _definitely_ waffles.

"I'm fine Dan, thank you though" she responded with a genuine smile and going to pick up that file again, flipping it open to some rather gruesome autopsy photographs. She didn't need that at almost lunchtime and Chloe closed the file again.

"Sure?" he asked, seeing her nod as he slid off the desk. She was fine. She was sure she was still digesting that pizza from last night.

As soon as he left, Chloe pulled her cell out from her desk drawer as she just wanted to check on him. Almost 1pm and no texts from Lucifer telling her he was bored. She had expected one or two, and the fact that there was silence, well it half pleased her and half worried her. Maybe he had taken it to heart when she told him he was a distraction and it only served to unexpectedly worry her even more. Just how sensitive could a Devil be? Who was to say Raphael had appeared again, even Michael, or worse Eve? She _needed _to get him to talk. She thought for a second to fire off an 'are you okay?' text and was just about to do it until another figure appeared in front of her.

"Hey Chlo! Want me to pick up some lunch for you?" Ella's bright voice sang across the floor to her.

"Why does everyone want to feed me?" Chloe responded, putting her cell face down on her lap so no-one would see she had called up Lucifer's number. She sunk back in her chair. Whilst she felt better - a touch today - she still had dark circles under her eyes that she wondered if they would ever go away.

Ella just tipped her head to one side, contemplating the pale face before her. She was sure Chloe was losing more weight as well and she was genuinely worried. "Because it is simple, Decker. You are not looking after yourself".

"Ella" she started with a hopefully convincing smile. "I am absolutely fine. I might go out shortly myself and get something. I just need to sort this out", she said, tapping the file. The forensic scientist just looked at her sceptically. "Bring me back a do-nut then if you are that worried that I'm going to fade away..."

"Empty calories Decker" Ella responded as she walked away, hair bouncing in the low light of the station. She would still do it though.

Chloe just shook her head. She loved Ella to bits and her and Dan's relationship had actually improved since Lucifer left, but they really did mother-hen her at times. She did feel slightly better today she would admit that, even without the kitchen shenanagins this morning. All of a sudden, her cell vibrated on her knee and she picked it up. There was a simple message.

_"Call me"_

Quickly Chloe found the only place that she knew would be quiet for ten minutes and she slipped into Ella's domain, carefully closing the door behind her, hoping nobody saw her sneak in. Two rings later, Lucifer picked up. "Where are you?" he asked, seemingly having no time for pleasantries.

"In the lab" she replied, carefully watching through the blinds for anyone who might interrupt. She had no idea what he wanted her for after all and knowing him it could be the world was about to end or he was bored after all and would try to talk her into some highly inappropriate phone sex to ease the fact he was stagnating at home.

"Ella?" he asked. He had to know she was alone.

"Gone to get herself something to eat. You'll have to be quick, Lucifer" Chloe pleaded. _With whatever it is._

"Do you have the urchin this weekend?" he asked simply and she told him of her deal with Dan and in response was a satisfied noise. "Do you have any _plans_ for the weekend then?"

"Well...no not really" she replied, quite glad his telephone call was to talk of arrangements and practicalities. She had only ever tried - and she meant tried - phone sex with Dan once and she was so mortally embarrassed that she gave up. "I did think of coming in here on Sunday..." Chloe offered. She almost heard a sigh of disappoint from the other end of the line. It had been the first time too, in a long time that she had some enthusiasm back for the extra hours that this job inevitably expected of her.

"Chloe?" Lucifer asked. His voice was unashamedly tentative. "Do you want me to go back to stay at Lux?"

She was almost lost for words and confused. "No!" she replied, her voice raised perhaps too much. It was the last thing she wanted for him to be stuck in that Penthouse on his own. "No of course not" Chloe continued and decided to be direct. She had had it up to her neck of avoidance behaviour and was going to take a leap. If anything, this past year had taught her that you simply do not let go. "Lucifer", she started softly, still careful of who might walk in. If it was Ella, Chloe knew she was would not get out of the lab alive without telling her why she was in there "Lucifer" she repeated. "I'd like you stay with me as much as possible but...I do have to ask a favour though". She heard him say 'go on'. "When Trixie comes home on Friday afternoon, could you make yourself scarce just while my Mom's here? I want to tell her you are back without my mother breathing down our neck. If you want me to tell her that is".

"It will be good the urchin knows, particularly if we are..." He must be out somewhere, she thought, as Chloe heard a flash of two women talking and laughing. "If we are, well..." He was out; trying to blend in and keeping his words as low as possible.

"Lucifer?" Chloe felt her voice waver. It was all well and good avoiding avoidance but sometimes reality _hurt._

"If I can stay..." he started. "If you want me".

Chloe swallowed, forcing back tears. "If you want me?" she asked, trying to keep her voice down too and free of the tremor that she could feel in her throat. "Lucifer I love you. If you can stay, I want you to stay. Trix will want you to stay, but if you have to go... at least I know I..."

"Chloe..." It was almost a whine.

"No, let me say it" she insisted. "If you have to go..."

Lucifer sighed and it stopped her. "Why did we have to have this conversation whilst I'm stuck in this awful cafeteria and you are there..."

"Where are you?" she whispered, sure she heard the ring of a till.

"Ginos"

"Shit, Lucifer, Dan was about to go over there!" Chloe exclaimed. Adreneline starting running through her body again at the thought that he could be recognised by Dan of all people. She did not want to have to explain anything to him right now particularly as she was just about introduce Lucifer to their daughter as more than Mom's work partner. _She was not letting go without a fight this time._

"I know" he said, leaning just around the corner of the booth he was seated in. "I can see him. He really ought to lay off the waffles..."

"Lucifer..."

He smiled at the warning in her voice. It was like old times that she would tell him off, except this time it might not end up her slamming a door in his face. "It's perfectly alright Chloe I am right at the back and he's ordering to go". He heard her sigh. "Don't worry darling. I can move faster than him" he said with a laugh, before he became as serious as he could be. "Listen, I was wondering about going somewhere".

Her brain was still firmly engaged in the fact that Dan might just storm right through to her desk in a few minutes, wondering if she knew that 'nut job' Morningstar was back in town, pleading with her to be careful and not to get involved again. _Too late for that. Far too late for that. _"You going somewhere?"

"No you and me" he replied with a laugh. "Where do you desire to go Detective?"

Chloe laughed out loud, hearing his voice dripping like something raw and primal down the phone line. She had wondered from time to time what it might feel like to be vulnerable to his mojo; imagined what it might feel like to just be free with what you wanted, to just express your deepest desires in one simple sentence. What would it be like to have that drawn from the depths of your being; to ultimately give up control of yourself to him? She had wondered it felt like to have his eyes penetrating into your soul, drawing you out. "Somewhere with a swimming pool" she offered; the first thing she could think of. The last family holiday had been Disneyland with an over excited almost six year old and it was then that her family was on the verge of falling apart for the final time. In truth she did not care where she went with him. He could put her in a shack in the middle of the desert and she would be quite happy to just have those moments.

"Leave it with me" Lucifer replied. He already had half an idea. If he was going to tell her it all, it had to be somewhere were nobody, absolutely nobody could interrupt them. No cell reception, no chance.

"So what are you doing this afternoon?" she asked, slipping a fingertip back into the slats of the blinds, just checking she was still firmly alone.

"I sent Linda a message before. I thought I would go and see her". He needed to see her as a friend but also needed an opinion on how to broach this mission he was on to be telling the Detective the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

"Well you could have my session if you want it?. It's at half past three" Chloe offered.

"Are you sure you don't need it?" he asked, concerned enough that she had been driven to the need to see her therapist by his absence and the impact it might have on her to miss one. She was mortal after all and prone to the tearfullness of it all.

"No" she responded watching the clock on the opposite side of the room. "You need to see her more than me".

"Should I be offended by that Detective?" he laughed, still carefully watching Dan who was just paying and hopefully leaving in a very short time. Lucifer relaxed a little as he slid down into his seat and the door closed behind Detective Douche, glad to see the back of him - quite literally.

"No, you shouldn't be offended" Chloe responded, still peering out of the gap in the blinds, knowing her response came out the wrong way but the sentiment was still the same. He needed to see the mother of his nephew; to reconnect with family that cared for him, even if he might not know it or appreciate it. "You just need to see her. Not for therapy. Just to see her."

Lucifer chuckled and gave in. He had almost heard the smile in her voice. "Do you want me to bring over some lunch for you?"

"Don't you start". She didn't need a mother-Devil too.

"Well text me when you leave work".

"I will" Chloe replied, heart settling at how responsible and caring he sounded and as they said their goodbyes she quickly closed off her cell and ran back to her desk with a new energy to tackle those files. She made it back to her seat just in time as well as a frosted do-nut, drowned in silver candy stars and far too much refined sugar was placed in front of her. "Thank you" Chloe whispered as Ella walked away.

"Any time girl" Ella replied with a wave as she closed the door to the lab again, quickly leaning on it, breathing heavily as her mind ran at a thousand miles an hour. Was it him she saw walking away from Gino's? Did she actually see Lucifer again or was the tall and dark man just an illusion, a mistaken identity? She was quite a way away when the retreating form caught her eye and by the time she realised what, or who, she had seen, he was gone.

Ella pushed her fingertips though the blind, ironically where Chloe had done exactly the same not so long ago and sighed, watching as Chloe picked one of the candy stars off the do-nut. It had reminded Ella of the heavens, if the night sky was a violent shade of additive pink. It reminded her of a belief she once had. Quietly she shook her head. She was _sure_ it was him; something inside her just _knew_. Should she? Should she find a way to tell Chloe? Ella shook her head, dismissing the notion.

No, she wouldn't tell Decker her former partner was in town again. She was too fragile. Perhaps it was best she didn't know.


	14. Chapter 14

A few miles away Linda felt nervous, pacing up and down in her office.

The text had been sent hours ago, followed up by the one that he was taking Chloe's session if Linda didn't mind - it was only fair to warn her after all but Linda was truly anxious of him and filled with concern that Chloe had, in effect, cancelled her session.

Normally her rational, balanced mind was good at surprises yet this was not a surprise by any means and she should know how to react, know how to prepare to see him again. Chloe had told her already that he was back but this was nothing compared to actually seeing him in the flesh after all this time. No matter how pleased she was that he was back, Linda was also acutely aware that he had been physically hurt, as well as perhaps emotionally and she must be prepared to deal with that. She wondered what he might look like; how she might react to his presence regardless of all her training.

Linda closed her eyes, head bowed, her back to the door as she wore a ridge into the carpet. He was here to see her as his therapist, a professional and as she spun around on her heels for the tenth time, there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Her voice sound almost falsetto and she coughed, trying to regain some level of control. "Come in!"

Almost with an air of uncharacteristic shyness, Lucifer appeared from the otherside of the door, only to be bowled over by the small blonde figure as she cannoned into him; head on his chest and arms grasping tightly around his waist forgetting herself. After a second of hesitation, she felt Lucifer's arms close around her as he looked down at the top of her head. "How glad am I to see you..." she breathed eventually. "We have missed you." Any professionalism she hoped to carry her through, dissipated in a millisecond.

After a moment she let him go and they sat. He was wearing a simple ensemble of t shirt, jacket, jeans and sneakers so white they almost glowed. He wasn't quite ready to be the Lord of Lux yet and so far he had not said a word. Not even 'hello'.

"So", she began, getting down to business in the hope he would open up. Her own heart was still hammering away in her chest but she had to concentrate on where she could help him the most. "Where do you want to start?"

Lucifer sighed and sat back. Linda could tell he was not the man – or Devil – that left them twelve months ago. There was something dull in his eyes and his body language was not that of a confident man. "I thought of taking her away for the weekend, somewhere quiet, no disturbances" he finally said.

"By her I presume you mean Chloe?" Linda asked carefully. His backwards conversations hadn't changed clearly.

"Yes" he replied mentally telling himself off. "The Detective. I owe her a proper explanation for why I am here, why I sudden reappear in her life like a bad penny".

"Well that is good. Progress", Linda commented trying to get him back into some semblance of rational order, not liking his reference to him being the 'bad penny' one bit. He still harboured some of that self hatred that he had confessed to long ago which was clear to see. "Is there anything you think you need to talk through before you execute that plan?"

Lucifer nodded, fiddling with the cuff of his jacket. He knew that he didn't think things through sometimes, running in feet first and damn the consequences in pursuit of pleasure. "Plenty" he said simply, his voice flat and half way between wondering whether this was a good idea or not to even come here, even if Chloe had insisted. He could keep the good Doctor here all night, but it was someone else that needed to hear it first. He put his head in his hands, pushing the heel of his hand against his forehead in an effort to concentrate. "If I hadn't introduced her to it all, she would have been fine". He let out a frustrated, guilty sigh and flopped back onto settee.

"Chloe?"

"No" he responded, shaking his head as he seemed to sink deeper into the cushions. "Eve".

"Ah" Linda breathed. She knew a little already from Chloe and from what she had witnessed first hand too. Him flying from subject to subject though was a concern. Lucifer Morningstar could be erratic; she knew that but this was different. "Eve is old enough to make her own choices Lucifer and I seem to recall you did not force her into anything did you? Eve had her own free will to do as she wished".

"I let her have her desires" he started. He had been letting people make deals with the Devil for longer than time, giving people what they wanted for millenia without a second thought as to the consequence of letting out those innermost wants without even giving a glance to the sordid, base desires of this hoard of slobbering repressed humans. "Eve wanted excitement, I gave it to her. She wanted havoc, I gave it to her. I didn't_ think_ before I acted..." _ I've never thought before I acted and look where it has got me._

Linda suppressed a smile. "But now you do think before act Lucifer. You thought about going back to sort out whatever you needed to sort out and you made a decision to act the better man. Lucifer I do not know what happened to you there and you may never tell me, but the fact remains that you are here seeking my advice before you tell Chloe all about what happened to you. That is proof positive to me that you have grown beyond that literal devil-may-care attitude you had".

He scowled. "I can engage all manner of in sexual intimacy without a second thought to anyone else or their petty human feelings. But Eve...I ruined her and she..." _She turned on me because I wouldn't give her what she wanted._

"Lucifer", Linda started. "Whatever she did, yes, you opened the door but she did not have to walk through it. A few days ago you opened the door to Chloe and she walked through didn't she?"

"She did" he replied. _She is immune to me, yet she still walked through. I couldn't push her to do what she did if I tried.  
_

"Did you force her to stand with you? No, you didn't" Linda insisted and Lucifer knew Chloe had made that journey back to him in her own time but part of her was missing, even he could see that and that was just from knowing him; associating with him. He had made her like this. No matter how noble or how adult or however you wanted to express it his decision to leave had hurt her and this guilt he felt was so new and so consuming.

Linda watched as he pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. "Chloe is your most significant issue now. She is here and present. It is only once you sort out your relationship with her and to her that you can move forward and tackle all of your other problems, face on. With her - not fighting her or obsessing over her. She is an asset to you Lucifer".

"I know that" he muttered. It wasn't terse. It was tired. "What I don't want to do is scare her. She was scared of me last time and we know how that turned out". _I destroy everything. I'll destroy her. I'll destroy myself. "_She is so gentle and kind. I am not. Far from that".

It was almost as though the therapist read his mind. "You will not destroy Chloe, Lucifer. You are a better person than you think you are. Remember, this is not what you are. This is how you were _made to be_". He did not react to her statement, but the therapist knew it would take much more than a few words from her to unravel the twists and turns in his mind. Linda thought to bite back what she was going to say as it would break her patient's confidence but she could not really say anything else. "Chloe is an intelligent woman. Can you even imagine how it feels to be a friend to, to fall in love with the one being in the world that you are told since you are child that that being is the epitome of evil. A being you are taught to be scared of yet you with your whole heart you love and moreso desire?". Linda took a breath to take in his demeanour, knowing she was about to raise her voice, ready to fight for her patient and indeed her friend. "Do you know something? She _never_ gave up on you even when she was terrified, she _knew_ what she had in her heart and she sees you for what you really are. Even I said to her that she should think of letting go, but she refused. It was only the last week or so that she said might have to even _think _about it let alone do it".

Lucifer nodded carefully. She didn't give up on him. "Doctor, she gives me joy. Nobody has ever done that before". A real vicious overwhelming joy and a connection, even with Dad's blessed interference, he could not explain. "It is human emotion and I don't know what to do with that".

Linda did not take his words in any other way than they were meant. Long ago, she knew their encounter was nothing more than that. "I will tell you what I tell a lot of people in this situation. Be truthful. If you open up to her, she will open up to you. In your head it will be worse than when you say it". It was almost word for word what she had already told Chloe but the advice was sound whoever the recipient was.

Lucifer breathed out, filling his cheeks with air. "I want to know if I am doing the right thing. Being here". _Not fighting his corner like the Devil should._ "I don't want to see that look in her eyes again. Ever, ever again, but I don't think I can prevent it either..."

"Lucifer you ran to the place that you knew would accept you, even after so long, even after how you left. You went to her because she will forgive you and accept you. Is that not what you want? Acceptance for all parts of you not what you appear to be?" she asked.

"Yes, except..." he continued, stuck for words. These last however long he had been away years, he had started to question himself more and more. He was becoming mortal and these new feelings and thoughts were confusing even to him. That's why Hell rejected its Ruler.

"I cannot give you confidence, nor can I tell you that there will not be bumps on the road" Linda responded. "But do you know what?" He just shook his head. "Take the leap, Lucifer". Her words were powerful and meant, but she had another pressing question; one of the caring nature when he did not respond. "Lucifer?" Linda knew she was truly about to break her patients confidence but there was a very good reason behind it. "How is Chloe?"

He signed and frowned. "She..." he started, struggling. "She has these...moments...absences like she isn't there...but she is"

Linda nodded carefully. "Despite all I say Lucifer, despite me advising you to take the leap, you must do it carefully. She is vulnerable. I know I sound overbearing and believe me I don't mean it that way but don't take advantage of her. I do you know that you have been staying with her".

Lucifer knew what she meant. The sex. He nodded carefully. With every other woman, or indeed man, he hadn't cared long enough to be bothered how they felt. She was different though. She had waited for him and one false move from him and he might break her forever. He did not know what his future was and the wonderful Doctor could not tell him. Perhaps he should help the Detective move on? Help her recover and then he could set her free...

As he made his way back to Chloe's house that evening Linda's words spun in his head. Where was he? What was he now? They had taunted him with his weakness; this mortality. He'd been an indecisive Ruler and his escape had been by the skin of his teeth. If he had left it a moment longer...He had gone to the one person who would have him and she had barely flinched at his sudden arrival. She had certainly not run and it was almost as though she knew he would be back and in her bed. Sometime.

All of a sudden, out of the mire of indecision and as he stood at the foot of the path he realised that he had not had his promised text to tell her she was leaving work. He pondered calling her. Would she think him too possessive if he did? Were they getting too cosy and if he had to leave, it would be twice as hard? She had welcomed him without question, welcoming into her life and her bed without a second thought. Did he deserve her forgiveness for all he had done? All of these questions. Anyone else and they would know the answer, yet for all of his experience, Lucifer Morningstar was a novice when it came to actual, true and real love and just what it made a human do.

He lingered a while, seeing a curtain next door twitch and one of Chloe's neighbours watching him. Yes, alright he did look suspicious, so did what only Lucifer Morningstar could do as he pushed away the knot in his chest for now. He waved and gave a most dramatic, theatrical bow, smirking to himself as the woman scurried away. "I don't know" he muttered, punching his passcode back into his cell, "can't a devil stand in the street for a moment without you thinking he's an axe murderer".

He sighed. Linda's words were still spinning in his head. If he was the Lucifer of two earth years ago it would not have mattered, but whilst deep in the depth of his personal Hell, he had a lot of time to think. Circumstance had made him think. Knowing she loved him for the fact he was an angel and the Devil made him think.

Lucifer sighed. "Raphie where are you when I need you?" He felt a rush of air on the back of his neck and smiled.

"Here" his brother replied, coming to stand shoulder to shoulder with him as they both looked out onto the quiet leafy gardens of Chloe's street.

"So did you see him?" Lucifer asked. Raphael knew what he meant.

"Father is fully appraised of the situation"

"You sound like a cop", Lucifer responded, arms folded across his chest, keeping his distance. What news would be brought of their father, Lucifer almost did not want to know. It can never been good when it came to him.

"When I am on detective sitting duties" Raphael replied, his voice as calm and collected as normal, "and before you get on your high horse and start whining brother, I know you didn't ask me to watch Miss Decker and her daughter but I know you want me to and I have been. Even if you will not say it".

"Raphie" Lucifer started, head bowed. "Can you promise me, what ever happens to me, just keep looking after Chloe and the urchin. Make sure they heal..."

"Brother..." he replied, putting his hand on Lucifer's shoulder. To his surprise his older sibling did not push him away. "You have come a long way. Father is.. pleased". All he heard in response was a strangled, cynical grunt. "He is, believe me" Raphael repeated. "There are still...there is still progress to be made. You still have obligations in Hell"

"I have obligations here", Lucifer replied tersely. "I have Lux, I had a job. I had the Detective and her offspring. I had a _home"_.

"Samael..." Raphael paused, hearing a car and realising they had no more time. "Miss Decker is near. Don't worry brother. If you need me, I'll be here". With that he was gone and barely a minute later Lucifer watched as the car drew up on the path and Chloe exited the car. Her blonde hair shone like a halo in the sunlight even though it was now approaching dusk. She still had those grey marks under her eyes and he had noticed that wince when she swung her legs from the car and stood up, gently pressing her hand to her hip.

"Hello" she said, resisting leaning up to kiss him. She had nosy neighbours and really did not need the gossip of single divorcee kissing a stranger in the street. They thought little of her already and she did not need to fuel the fire. "I know I was meant to text you but I forgot". She smiled and he returned the gesture, trying not to make it look as though he was worried. "Why are you standing out here like a latchkey kid anyway?" she asked.

"I didn't want to break in" he offered with a shrug.

Chloe smiled as they walked up the path. "Remind me to get you the spare key. You can come and go as you please then".

As she fished in her bag ready to open the door, Lucifer swallowed at her words.

_'Come and go as you please'_

__'Come and go as you please'__

___'Come and go as you please'___

He could walk in and could walk out at his leisure. She did not realised her words meant much more than a simple key.

Lucifer closed his eyes, hearing the scrape of the key in the lock and followed her in.


	15. Chapter 15

As he lingered in the kitchen leaning against a countertop, Lucifer watched her potter about, putting away some groceries that had failed to even see that she was carrying into the house.

"Who lives next door?" he asked all of a sudden, hands shoved into his pockets and scowling.

"Which side?" Chloe asked, looking up from one of the lower cupboards. Lucifer pointed to his left. "Oh that's Mrs Lawson. She thinks I should be at home baking cookies for Trixie all day and tied to the kitchen sink" Chloe responded, brushing imaginary dust off her hands as she stood up and walked over to the wall cabinet next to him, looking for the coffee.

"Tied to it, eh?" He lifted the back of her jacket playfully. "Do you have your handcuffs on you?"

"Get off" she laughed, taking a swipe at his hand as she brought down the container. "You're not the first person she's spied on. Dan get's it too when he comes to get Trixie and she _knows _who he is". Lucifer just nodded and went back to his place leaning against the counter as she flipped on the kettle. He would have to bear that in mind next time he saw 'Mrs Lawson' subject of course to what kind of a provoking mood he might be in. "How did it go with Linda?" she asked, assuming he would want a drink as well. Before he replied he remembered the Doctor's words. _She's vulnerable._

"Interesting" he replied thoughtfully. _Yes, it had certainly been that._

"Good interesting?" she asked, turning to him and walking across whilst the kettle boiled. She slid her arms underneath his and around his waist, pressing her body close to him to absorb how wonderfully warm he felt. She rested her cheek on his breastbone wondering if she could hear his heart. _Did the Devil have a heart?_

"I think so". It certain gave him things to concentrate on and think about and presented him with _more_ worries and concerns than ever before.

Chloe smiled and in her high heeled boots she could just reach her lips to his jaw, kissing her way along the underside, feeling his throat bob as he swallowed. _She's vulnerable_. _Remember?_ Lucifer sighed. It was a half mix of want and knowing he should distract her onto other things. His hands wandered down her back sliding into the pockets on the seat of her jeans hearing a long breath from her middle as she relaxed further. "So what shall we do this evening?" she asked, the kisses on his throat more open as he tried, tried and tried to ignore his innermost wants as her lips ghosted over the few hours old stubble._ She's vulnerable. Remember?_ Did she know her own mind? Was this a genuine attraction or some twisted joke of his father's? "I'm on an early tomorrow so I can leave at 2 for when Mom drops Trixie off so whatever we do I can't be up for hours".

"Well I promise" he started, leaning back so she lost contact with his skin. "I will get you into bed before 10. Will that do?" he asked. Chloe pressed her lips together, resisting the comment she was about to make, something along the lines of 'take out and bed?'. She also wanted him to talk about Eve but equally she knew that if she pushed him he would only move further away from her. Keep things the way they were for now, she decided. Questions later. "I was thinking we might take a drive somewhere. Your last night of being urchin-free" he suggested. If they were out of the house, then at least he knew he had to reign it in because she would never forgive him otherwise. He would have no choice as whilst those exhibitionist tendancies were still firmly entrenched in Lucifer Morningstar, they were not in Chloe Decker; at least not for now at any rate. _How confusing, and how not straightforward these human feelings were._

"That sounds..." she was about to say 'like heaven' but refrained, even if she was a little disappointed that he had not reacted to her kisses. He wasn't cold; the hands flexing in her jean pockets told her that, but there was a distance and she did not know why. "That sounds like such a good idea".

"Excellent" Lucifer, replied pressing a chaste whisper of a kiss to her forehead. "Go and have a shower and get dressed. Something casual. Black trousers and black shirt I think. Leave your hair down". She felt his hands slide out from the pockets of her jeans. Normally she was not one for being ordered about or being told what to wear but this one time she was prepared to indulge him as he seemed to be in such an odd mood. Chloe could not help thinking that he was perhaps bored of her already.

Half an hour later, Chloe was sitting in the passenger seat of her own car as it smoothed its way up the Pacific Coast Highway. He clearly knew where he was going; she however didn't and she hadn't thought to ask although she had started to recognise the outskirts of Malibu. Opening the window Chloe slipped down into her seat, letting the cool air brush her hair that she had left to flow like he said. Chloe closed her eyes relishing the breeze and for the first time in a long time she actually truly relaxed, enough for – although she did not realise it at the time – to fall asleep for maybe perhaps only fifteen minutes as her eyes felt heavier and heavier until they closed.

"Detective...?"

"Chloe...wake up..."

She could hear Lucifer's voice but it sounded a million miles away and slowly Chloe opened her eyes. They were sore, gritty, like she had been crying and she had a banging headache; like someone was taking a jackhammer to her forehead. "Luce...?" she asked, trying to focus on the hand that was on her arm. She was twisted awkwardly in her seat, knees pushed towards where the door had once been.

"Hello" he said softly, seeing her open her eyes, squinting into the evening sun. He had stopped the car in a lay-by and was crouching by the open passenger door wondering what on earth to do.

"Where are we?" She sounded drowsy even to her own ears. Her head felt as though it was ridden with clouds as she looked from side to side.

"I pulled over" he said, as she focused on him. She could hear the sea as it lapped against the rocks however many tens of feet below and for a moment it soothed the confusion and almost delerium she was feeling.

"What happened? Did we have an accident?" she asked, starting to panic that he had maybe taken them off the road or they had been hit. There were no other cars there though. She _must_ have had a bang on head. It felt like it; although clearly she still had all of her limbs as she rolled her ankles and flexed her wrists.

"You fell asleep..." he started, wearing the deepest frown she had seen on him in a long time, his own heart racing at the sight of her,"and you started crying in your sleep. I...I thought it best to stop". It was the only thing he could think of doing in the circumstances and just let her wake up and, even though he had wanted desperately to shake her, he may have done more harm than good. Was that the right thing? Is that how you cope with people having nightmares?

Chloe closed her eyes again. She was actually acutely embarrassed and she went to sit up but found she was still entrapped by her seatbelt. He reached across her body and released her. "What did I do?"

It was time he was direct although crouching outside her car on the Pacific Highway at dusk was not a place he wanted to do it. "You were talking about me".

"What did I say?" she asked warily, taking his hand as he helped her from the vehicle. He could not help but feel the fact that she was shaking and her breathing was shallow; the grip on his arm tighter than he had ever felt before, from man or woman.

He sighed and they both sat on the still warm bonnet of the car. "You said you loved me". _In fact, Detective, you yelled it. Loudly. _He nearly did have an accident as her knees hit the door and she fought against the seatbelt in the midst of whatever maelstrom was rumbling inside that head. Chloe coughed and wiped her hands over her face, breathing, counting to ten in a desperate attempt to calm herself. He did not have his arm around her but their shoulders were touching. She needed someone to just hold her.

"Perhaps you should have gone to see Linda this afternoon". He wondered whether to call their doctor and friend, maybe just to even speak to her over the telephone.

Chloe shook her head. "No. I felt better today, really. I didn't think I needed it". She knew she just couldn't terminate Linda's treatment by any means but she thought she had a higher purpose in offering her space to him but yes, she regretted it now. She was, unbeknownst to her, almost entrenched into the routine.

"Now I know a few nights with Lucifer Morningstar can make a woman forget her name but I really can't reverse everything you have been through this past year with a couple of shags". He was trying to be funny and serious in one sentence and Chloe laughed wearily, sinking her face into her palms as she shook her head. She wished a few heavy sessions with him could do just that.

"I guess my subconscious knows that". She let out a heavy shaky breath. "I will call her tomorrow". She had tried to get her sessions down to once a week but found she clearly could not make it.

"Come on" he said, standing up and holding out a hand. It actually felt a touch chilly. "I think a some indulgent calorie-laden food and a calming glass of wine is needed for us both".

"No" she replied, shaking her head and not moving from her spot. "I don't want to drink; not even one. You don't want to have to deal with messy me crying all over you all night." She had no idea what had hit her, to trigger the nightmare. She didn't remember a scrap of it but the concern etched on his face must have meant it was serious. Did she say more than he was letting on?

"If you are sure then we have a restaurant to get to". His hand was still lingering in mid air and this time she took it. She needed it out with him. Whatever it was, she needed to hear it.

That night, when as promised she was in bed by 10, he made no attempt to initiate anything apart from a goodnight kiss before Chloe was wrapped in his arms. She was not sure whether she was confused or not. He had not been the affectionate kind ever, even before he returned, but he seemed distant to her attempts to engaged with him all evening, moreso after her nightmare in the car. Whilst she slept, he lay awake for hours, her red rimmed eyes tormenting him. "This is your kind of a sick perverted joke isn't it Dad?" he had whispered when he was assured to his own mind she was asleep. "Do you want your Miracle Child so ill she can't function or do you just want me to feel guilt? Surely this cannot be another of your so called tests?!" Was she just a means to an end?

Guilt. He hadn't realised Chloe had woken in the midst of his whispered rant. She was lying away from him on her side. Maybe his Father wanted him to feel guilty; to learn about us humans, she thought. Chloe doubted he had felt it much before and she had listened quietly before he seemed to still. Another question to ask. As she shifted, pretending to be asleep, she had other concerns shortly too - explaining to a 12 year old how the Devil has reappeared in her life. Once she slept again, her planned speech buzzed around her head in dreams all night.

Friday rolled around rather expeditiously and, standing in the kitchen, Chloe nervously glanced at her watch. Trixie would be home within the next ten minutes.

"She will be fine, Detective", Lucifer responded onto his fourth piece of buttered toast. He hadn't made it; it was hers that she had left to go cold and he had failed to persuade her to eat it.

"I know she will" Chloe responded. Her daughter was more mature and aware than Chloe sometimes gave her credit for. Before she had time to think again Lucifer took up his hiding place somewhere upstairs and her daughter barrelled through the front door, hair wild and Chloe just knew her mother had been feeding her too much sugar. "Hello baby!" Chloe exclaimed leaning down so the child could run into her arms. "Did you have a good time with Nanna?"

"Yes Mommy. We went_ everywhere_!"

"I missed you baby" Chloe whispered into her ear only to hear her daughter's words just as close. "Missed you more Momma"

Chloe stood up after she had breathed in the scent of her child's skin, remembering it, letting it nestle into her heart. Her mother was a few feet behind watching the two. She had also wheeled in two suitcases. Chloe was fairly sure her child only left with one and looked at her daughter quizzically. "I have a lot of laundry" Trixie offered seeing the dark look that passed over her mother's face. She knew Nanna shouldn't have done it.

"You haven't done any washing for her for 2 weeks?" Chloe tried to keep a lid on the fury that was starting to bubble against her mother. "Trix go and get the hamper from upstairs while Nanna and I talk". Chloe waited until she was sure she heard her bedroom door open. "Mom? No washing for two weeks? I'm surprised she has any clean clothes left!"

"Well Valentina hasn't been well recently..." Penelope Decker offered to her bordering on angry daughter as they stood a safe distance apart.

"Mom...you don't have to have a housekeeper to throw some clothes into washing machine. She is wearing designer clothes Mom!" Chloe had taken a sneaky look at the label on her daughter's top when she was hugging her. She hadn't recognised the clothing and knew her mother was up to something. She hadn't bought those clothes; Dan hadn't either. Neither of them had the kind of money to afford the labels she saw on her daughter now. "She will wreck those sneakers in a few weeks if she doesn't grow out of them beforehand! How much did they cost? 100? 150?"

Her mother just looked at her with sympathy for her bad mood, utterly missing her point. "Chloe, now I know things have been difficult recently but you really should not take it out on me; not when Beatrice is in earshot."

Chloe blinked, trying process her mother's words. She coughed realising she was not going to get anywhere and she really was not in the mood.

Ten minutes later her mother was gone and Chloe wondered where her daughter had disappeared to. Maybe she was more aware of the fractured relationship her mother and grandmother had than she realised and was hiding. "Trix!" Chloe shouted, wheeling her daughter's other suitcase so it was out of the way. She would take it upstairs later. "Trix! You can come downstairs now, Nanna's gone". A second later she heard footsteps come down the stairs.

"Mommy?"

"Yes Monkey?" Chloe asked wondering whether to look through the other new suitcase now rather than leave it until later. Either way there was a wash going on before Dan picked her up in the morning. Trixie hesitated, her prize held tightly behind her back. "Trixie?" Chloe asked again, turning towards her daughter who wore an imperceptible look of worry on her face. "Trix? What is it?" Chloe asked, kneeling down in front of her child. "Did something happen with Nanna?" Relieved, Chloe saw her child vehemently shake her head. "Then what is it? Do you not want to go to Dad's tomorrow?" Again Trixie shook her head, hands flexing on the material in her hands. Trixie felt her Mom's hands squeeze her arms.

"Why is Lucifer's purple shirt in the hamper?" Trixie voice's was hesitant wondering if she was going to get shouted at for being nosy,

"Sorry?" Chloe responded, hoping that her daughter had not heard the crack in her voice.

"Lucifer's shirt". Trixie pulled the garment from behind her back and Chloe swallowed nervously. She turned over the neck to see the label – 'Prada'. "Has he come home?" Trixie asked, eyes wide and pleading with her mother to tell her. "Because if he has Mommy, I want to see him"

Chloe glanced over the top of her daughter's head, finding Lucifer standing on the bottom step of the stairs, leaning against the wall. He had his arms crossed and must have been listening. Whilst Chloe had built up in her head how she wanted to tell Trixie that he was back the reality of it was far, far different. She nodded to him.

"Urchin..."

Trixie spun around, still holding tight onto the shirt. "Lucifer!" The small child skidded across the wooden floor in her new sneakers and threw herself at the Devil. "Lucifer! Are you home?! Are you staying?" He glanced from the brown eyes of the child to her mothers blue-green asking permission of the latter to speak. Trixie was bright eyed, hanging off his waist and Chloe walked over. Gently she ran her palm over her daughter's dark hair.

"Lucifer is going to stay as long as he can. I can't promise he can stay forever" Chloe responded for him, hoping it was the right answer. "One thing you have to promise though Trix, for now. Lucifer would like it if you didn't tell everyone he was back".

"Mommy you said I shouldn't keep secrets" Trixie pouted glancing between the two adults.

"Beatrice" Lucifer responded, coming to kneel beside them. "This time, it's allowed to keep a secret. I am sure your Mummy would agree with me. This time". Chloe nodded.

"Okay" she smiled again, grabbing hold of Lucifer around the neck. He felt slightly less uncomfortable than last time but this urchin's unbridled joy at seeing him lifted his heart just a touch. She trusted him with no questions of him and it was another thing to make him think. Chloe smiled at the sight of them, even if she did feel a little left out of the affection.

"Baby do you want take out for dinner" she asked, quietly inspecting the sneakers her daughter was wearing. They were scuffed already. "I've had take out all week. I don't like it any more".

Chloe laughed. "Go and wash your hands then and I'll think of something"

Once the offspring was out of sight and the adults had returned to the kitchen, Lucifer carefully slipped his arms around Chloe's waist just needing to breathe her in, burying his face into her hair. Despite now regretting his self-inflicted distance that he placed between them, he was about to put an extra few yards to it. "Do you want me to sleep downstairs tonight?" Chloe twisted and just looked at him confused. "Well, do you want to explain to her why I am sharing your bed as well as asking her to keep it secret that I am even here?"

Chloe nodded her head reluctantly. She would get him some blankets and then she would telephone Linda. She needed to talk.


	16. Chapter 16

"No, no need for car keys" Lucifer noted as he took the offending object from Chloe's hands.

"No car keys?" she asked a deep frown on her face. Surely if they were going somewhere they would need to drive. Maybe he had ordered a cab when she was waving Trixie off with Dan or he had got someone to bring up the Corvette. She saw him shaking his head.

"No need" he said, gently taking her hand instead. "I want to show you something first and we can walk from there". In truth whilst he had planned where they would ultimately end up it had been a slow realisation that he could, and would, share something else with her on the way. His beginnings were perhaps the best place to start if he was going to tell her it all.

"Walk?" she asked, curiously.

"Mmmmm" he responded. "You know that thing you do with those legs and feet. One in front of the other". It could easily have been sarcastic but Chloe did not take it that way.

She tutted before she looked around. "Where are our bags?"

"I had them attended to" Lucifer replied. "They will be there before us" he assured her. Even though would admit that she was unnerved, she should know by now that she should trust him. "Come on then," he started. "Places to go".

So, she blindly followed him, the walk down her street leading to the beach. Lucifer looked at her and she smiled, neither of them speaking as they walked across the hot sands, stopping a few feet from the water that lapped against the shore. He stood her still; not looking at her, summoning up what he wanted to say. "When Maze and I escaped Hell, this is where we landed. On this spot". He felt her take his hand. "The place I thought we would...where we would just drink, party, fuck around. Where we would toy with a few of you humans, have a good time, no-one would miss us..." he concluded with a shrug. "We just landed here. This spot", Lucifer repeated. He remembered it; the first thing he had seen was that tatty ice cream parlour that they had busted the door on and stolen their fill of cookies n'cream. "Time is painful down there, Detective. People stuck relieving their worst, day after day, night after night. Some people down there don't deserve to be there and should be free. You made me realise that".

"I did?" Chloe swallowed as she stood beside him, wondering what had gone on down in Hell again. His jaw was tight.

"One thing I did not think of though when we landed here was you. The one person I did not even remotely consider was Detective Decker and how she might change me". She smiled as he continued. "I burnt my wings here too. Severed my connections but then dear old Dad starting playing his games". Lucifer stared out to sea, trying to swallow back something overwhelming that even he could not describe.

"I hope you realise I'm not one of his games" she said firmly. He looked down at her. How little she knew. She still had to know the truth about how she came into this world. Chloe, however, wanted to rail against his father. Tell the man, deity, whatever he thought he was, what she thought of him for almost destroying his own son, who was underneath it a good soul. If she had the chance, one of these days, she would. "Lucifer", she started, squeezing his hand, watching him carefully to consider her next step. "Thank you for bringing me here. I always wondered where you and Maze arrived. You could hardly get on a 747".

Lucifer laughed and her joke lifted the mood. "Private jet, Detective, private jet, _please_". He looked at her. "Its been a twisted pleasure, Detective; to see you here. For you to know that this was the first place I put foot on the soil of the City of Angels" he smiled. He wanted to lean down to kiss her but the beach was busy with kids and he was holding himself just this side of anxiety that making any connection with her but her hand might just break through.

"So where are we going for our weekend?" she asked, wanting to ask a million more questions but patience was a virtue. She did not want to ruin this.

"There" he said pointing further up the beach. All she could see what a clearly very expensive yacht moored against the pier. It must have been worth millions as it shone in the sunlight. Whoever owned it must have been rolling in money.

"Where?" Chloe asked. She knew there were no hotels anywhere nearby and if they were going away, what was the point of staying ten minutes from her house?

"That", Lucifer responded, pointing ahead.

Chloe shook her head, totally confused. "We are going on that yacht?"

"Congratulations!" he said, smiling as he did it as there was no malice. "Your detectiving skills are second to none. The chap who owns it owes me a list of favors that I could spend years cashing in. I called them all in yesterday instead". He started to walk pulling her along the beach, onto the jetty and stopped just they reached the gangplank. Lucifer leant down to her ear, ignoring the few stares that were being shot their way and perhaps moreso at the boat. "Your weekend awaits".

Chloe shivered at the feel of his warmth breath on her skin, about to turn around to kiss him when a middle aged man, dressed head to foot in black appeared. "Mr Morningstar...Miss Decker. I am Alexander. Welcome aboard the Elizabeth May". She felt a little push in her back and Chloe walked without saying a word. Away on the beach, up by that ice cream parlour, they didn't realise they were being watched.

Raphael sat on a low wall, arms folded carefully considering the sight of that yacht as it screamed wealth as it stood, the sheer luxury of it taunting all of the lesser mortals. He was a quiet, gentle soul and this excess he had seen these few days sat uncomfortably within him. How these humans lived amongst it. He watched the pair disappear into the body of the boat before he felt someone walk up and stand beside him.

"You too brother?" the voice came before Raphael turned to see a familiar face.

"Gabriel. Father send you too?" Raphael asked tiredly, seeing his sibling laugh, his long blonde hair shining in the sun. If there was anyone build for a beach life it was him.

"He thought you..."

"He thought I?" Raphael interrupted, raising an eyebrow. It was almost as though he knew the answer before he started.

"May not like LA, or indeed the excesses of this planet, and well, might need assistance if Michael and Samael were to come into contact with each other too", Gabriel responded, taking up a seat now on the wall. "Father knows full well that we will need to be out in force".

"I don't like LA. Particularly" Raphael waved his hand at the bodies on the beach, men, women barely dressed and that multi-million dollar monstrosity bobbing gently on the tide. "But yes, my cautious nature suggests to me that it may not be simple. He was injured terribly when he came back although one imagines we will be the last to know about how he came about them".

"Did you see the wounds?" Gabriel asked, concerned, worried how a celestrial in Hell could become so weak that he was injured to the degree that Raphael seemed to suggest. His brother shook his head. He had felt his brother's pain and it was immense. "So is that where he and the Miracle Child are?" Gabriel enquired gracefully raising a finger after seeing his brother staring at the Elizabeth May, now hearing its engines grind into life.

Raphael nodded."I does not bear thinking about what acts of fornication and debauchery will go on there and why I punish myself in caring of their safety. With a human. He debases himself with a human!"

"Raphie..." Gabriel smiled, patting his brother on the shoulder. "This is Lucifer we are talking about. The Miracle Child will see him straight with the world, you know that. It was written, brother. I was more interested if you had seen Michael or the other human form since your last visit. That one is more danger to Lucifer than the Miracle Child could ever be". Taking his eyes off the yacht for a moment, Raphael shook his head. No Michael, no Eve. Not since the scuffle. "Well, we need to find him brother. And I think we need to visit Amenediel and the young as well. Father will expect it of us."

A few minutes walk away, on the yacht, Lucifer let Chloe go first, walking immediately into a vast sitting room decorated in various shades of gray. "Everything is ready for you Sir, Ma'am. If you need me or anyone else, just press this and we will be with you". He gestured to an intercom on the wall.

"Thank you" Lucifer smiled, slipping a $100 bill into the man's hand. Chloe had wandered off further into another room at the back of the sitting room. It was a second living room, but one far more comfortable with huge bean bags and a vast television that almost took up one wall. Further on there was a set of stairs running to her left and in front, an open door that obviously led to a more than well-equipped kitchen. Curiously she walked up the stairs, gently touching the white walls as she climbed, finding again she could turn left or right. Instinct took her to her left, and there she found an excruciatingly and blindingly white bedroom and a huge bed that to her best judgment could easily sleep about six. Her mind wandered a second, wondering if he had been here before and what on earth had gone on in here. She shook her head dismissing the thought and whilst the room was sparsely furnished it felt comfortable. She spotted a shower room and their bags at the foot of the bed.

"Ah good" Lucifer said suddenly as he walked up behind her. "They remembered". He gestured towards three bags on the bed. Chloe recognised the names embossed on the sides of two of them but not the third. Either way though these were high-end, designer shops that she would never dream of going into. They were things that her credit card and her conscience would not enjoy. "Open them" he said, walking past her. "They are yours".

"Mine?"

"Yours" he replied, going to open up the floor to ceiling doors ahead of them that lead out onto a deck that would be perfect for rest and relaxation.

"I can't take these Lucifer". Chloe wasn't sure what to think and something inside her started to panic. Worthy of the expense he had gone to? No. In need of whatever was in there? No.

"You can" he smiled, standing just inside the doors, breathing in the wall of warm air he had exposed as they both felt the boat gently begin to move.

"You don't have to buy me, Lucifer", Chloe replied, not wanting to seem ungrateful but still.

"I know" he replied, turning back towards her, "but I wanted to buy you a present for well...not killing me and trying to understand; wanting to understand me. For welcoming me back without tearing me to shreds. You won't let me buy you want I wanted to get yet so I thought of someone you could wear for a little holiday. Open them!" he concluded clapping his hands together in encouragement.

"Lucifer". Her voice was plaintive and he stepped forward.

"Chloe I heard what you said to your mother last night about all of that apparel she bought your offspring but I am not trying to buy you. I like nice things; I like seeing you in nice things...Open them. For me" He brushed his lips against her cheek as Chloe nodded unable to resist the plaintive look in his eyes. She turned, gently pulling the silk ribbon on the first bag, rummaging into the paper when she found a royal blue bikini. She could tell he was pretending not to look to gauge her reaction. To her surprise it actually had some substance to it and wasn't a piece of string. In the other one there was a black one, much the same but with a frill that added extra weight to the top.

"So should we get a drink and sit out? Or would you like to explore some more?" he asked. Lucifer was pleased that she seemed to have accepted the gifts. Maybe next time, he may temper it. He enjoyed catering to people's pleasures but nobody but Chloe Decker had even tried to turn down his gifts before. This learning curve was a steep one. Maybe it wasn't her. Perhaps everyone else was superficial and greedy.

"Wait Lucifer", she said taking a few quick steps towards him and she pulled on his elbow to make him stop. "Thank you" she said sincerely. "I am grateful you think of me".

He smiled in response. "Get changed and come out onto the deck. Alexander is taking us up the coast for a while".

A good twenty minutes later Chloe reappeared on the deck, in the royal blue, covered with a pair of jean shorts and a white vest. Her hair was roughly piled up on top of her head; still damp from the test run she had done of the vast shower. Lucifer was already there, laid out in the sun, in a pair of shockingly turquoise blue board shorts that laid low on his hips. She had no idea where he had changed and Chloe stepped over him, admiring just precisely how well defined he was stretched out in the sun like a cat. Those injuries he had when he first returned were nowhere to be seen; not even a scar was left. She lay down on her back on a white towel that had been placed particularly for her. All they could hear was the sound of the engine of the yacht as it cut through the blue waters and Chloe closed her eyes, shutting out all the visual stimuli so she could listen to nature around her. No cars, no shouting, nothing but the water and the gentle lilt of the boat as it moved away from the shore. As the sun beat down on her face, Chloe felt Lucifer move shifting around so he was on his side facing her. "You'll get vest lines with that thing on" he said, pulling at the thin white cotton of her top, "and stripy legs".

Still with her eyes closed, Chloe smiled. "Is that your hint you want to see the bikini?"

"Detective" he began, his voice at its smoothest. "If you choose to model my purchases, then I am not a man to turn down a free show as you well know, but hear this before you think twice about it; every inch of you is perfect. Believe me I have seen some finery in my ridiculous life, but you top it all".

She was not entirely sure whether to believe him, but reluctantly she took off the white vest and shimmied off the jean shorts. Admittedly she did feel cooler but a hundred times more self conscious as she lay on her stomach instead. His hand wandered over her back, smoothing over her warm skin. "You've got stretch marks", he offered. Silvery lines adorned the swell of her hip just travelling to the top of her buttock and he touched them, just gently with a fingertip. His statement was curious rather than derogatory.

"I know I have" Chloe replied, settling with her head on her arms and eyes closed. They weren't the reason she was so hung up on her body by any means. No, it was that teenager that through pressure alone thought Hot Tub High School was her stepping stone to an Oscar and Mom's acceptance. Years of men staring at her tits or ass, thinking she was easy because she took her clothes off for the camera had done it too and why she ran so far away from it now. "Three of them. Even with the amount of cream Dan used to rub into me night after night, she still made her mark". The comment about Dan was casual, yet so intimate that something stabbed Lucifer in the chest. Was he jealous of the Douche for having that memory with her? How on all that was holy could the Devil be jealous of a mortal? "They were Trixie's little present to me to remember her always even when we are apart". Lucifer heard the affection in her voice and it made him forget his errant thoughts. Lucifer leant down, kissing the patch of marred skin. _She's vulnerable._ Linda's words bit at him again before she sighed loudly. "I had years of being some sweaty little nerd's jerk off material. That's why I don't like people looking at me now..."

"Ah" he replied, pressing a particularly open mouthed kiss to the marks, ever so conscious that he was part of that 'sweaty little nerd' community, even though she could well have termed it better for his liking. That's why she dressed down in blacks and browns. Make up was an exception and he was sure he had only seen her once or twice in a dress. "Well, that's behind you now though and there is nobody there to look...stare...at you but me and if anyone tries..." _You know I will finish them off._

Chloe heard the threat in his voice and smiled to herself. Violence she would never condone, even though she had to use it in her line of work but there was a comfort that the Devil would protect you. She knew he liked the extremes and would not hesitate, if he had to. "Thank you Lucifer" she replied, sitting up again as she ran a hand over his stubble. "You know what that means to me". It was true, despite his dubious methods.

She leant down and kissed him, letting her lips roam over his. "Lets go inside", she whispered trailing her mouth down his jaw to a sweet spot she found just by his earlobe. "I missed you last night and the night before that too". Lucifer swallowed. She did seem to know her mind. Surely his addictiveness – even though it was half a joke- might be tempered by the fact that it seemed she could, well, neutralise him? He knew why Linda said what she said but she was also a grown woman.

"It's barely lunchtime!" Lucifer replied scandalously watching her smile and reach for him again, until he held onto her wrists again. "Chloe..." he started, gently taking her hand away from his face.

"You're bored with me, aren't you?" she stated forcefully, her fear of rejection coming straight to the fore as she closed off from him. "Or am I not good enough in bed for you?"

Lucifer scoffed but bit back what he was going to say. Her mood seemed to have swung from seduction to anger in a millisecond. "I am not bored with you. Far from it and, to quote something I would rather not. _Hell, no_ on good in bed front. You are just..." His sentence dissolved into a whistle as his eyes scraped up and down her body. Sometimes he could not help himself. "Trust me, when I come inside you, I have never felt something so intensely in my very long life".

"Then what?" she asked, her voice still tight even though the lustful look on his face told her volumes more than his words. She was on sitting up property now, legs tucked underneath her, feeling the heat of the sun as it beat down on her back and the heat of his gaze on her front.

He breathed in and sat up, pressing his lips together as he found the right words. Sometimes, in this new perspective he had, his usual ability to express himself left without warning. "I love you" he started, "but if I have to go and you get attached to me..." _Or I get too attached to you again or I do something to hurt you again.  
_

"We are _attached _to each other Lucifer". She licked her lips. "I know you might go again and I want some memories of us". She paused. _Time to dive deep, Decker. _ "I also know that whatever you left Hell because of, it will either still be there, or be roaming about up here and it needs dealing with". He was about to speak but she shushed him. "I saw those injuries Lucifer. You let me tend to those injuries. Talk to me please. Whatever it is, I am strong enough to know". _Are you? I had hoped we could speak properly. In the peace. No cells phones and no interruptions. but are you strong enough? _"You know me Lucifer. I love you too. I love the Devil for G..." she paused. "I love the Devil. Is that not enough? Do you not think I have beaten myself up so much this past year that I realise what I really want? I am tired of dancing around. I have come to terms with what I know and I have told you before, time and time again, I want to help you in any way I can and I want to be in your bed. No matter what Linda might have said to you".

He nodded carefully. He should have known she might have guessed. Never share a therapist with your soulmate...

"I never thought I would see you again and it _killed me"_ she pleaded. There were times she had come so close to ending it all._ "_But you are here so tell me, I want to know it all".

Lucifer looked up at her and nodded solemnly. So the time had come. Not of his making but one minute this weekend it would have been if not for now.

"Come on. Let's sit inside".


	17. Chapter 17

"It's not alcohol I promise" Lucifer said, passing her a glass of what on the face of it was orange juice filled with ice cubes.

Chloe smiled and took the glass as she was curled up on one of the bean bags downstairs. He took another one, putting his glass on the floor. He was too tall for these ridiculous sacks of polystyrene, but it was where she had chosen to sit and he had simply followed. Chloe had also thrown a short white beach dress over the bikini, much to his disappointment.

"Before I start this..." he began, scratching the skin of the back of his hand with his thumbnail in an effort to provide a focus. She was near and that spike of pain as he twisted his flesh was anchoring. "I want you to know something". She nodded, heart racing at what she was about to hear. It wasn't fear of what he might say, far from it; but such a desperate anxiety that she might finally learn what she had been through. Despite her bravado, what if this was out of her reach? What if she did not have the tools to help him? "I am sorry Detective...Chloe. _For everything._ I behaved like such an arse towards you from the moment we met. It wasn't deliberate. I didn't intend to hurt you".

"I know", she replied as she shifted, hearing the beans crumple underneath her. She wanted to sit next to him but it might have been too much. He might want to keep her at a distance; maybe it could be easier that way. "So tell me what you need to tell me".

Lucifer cleared his throat and took a deep breath. He had no idea where to start but he knew he had to. "When I left, I know I broke your heart but I did what I thought was best, how I could protect you, the urchin, Charlie, everyone, even if it meant hurting myself. When I went there, I sat on that throne feeling so...so... _alone_".

Chloe watched him carefully, his jaw set again as he tried to find the words. It struck her oddly that all of these human emotions he was digesting must be so difficult to comprehend for a being such as him. It was all new to him and yet she had her whole life to learn. If she had to, she would teach him if he would let her. "What happened to the rebellion?" she asked, her voice calm and quiet.

Lucifer just laughed in response. She could not miss the sardonic nature of the sound. "The demons, apart from Maze and a couple of others, tend to be a touch on the stupid side. All they needed was a firm hand and the threat of punishment so they complied with me barely having to do anything". He sighed. All of that heartache for a few words of warning and it was over with. The trouble was, there were other things brewing in Hell that were of such a great significance.

He swallowed. "When that was contained, I started exploring what was left of my Kingdom, really, properly looking at who was there, why they were there, not just meting out punishment because they happened to arrive on my doorstep". It had been almost automatic that he had begun to survey his subjects; wonder about them as more than just pieces of meat. That was her doing, that was. Making him think, making him wonder about the person underneath. "There were people who deserved to be there, no doubt but plenty that were not and it, everything, made me think even more". He paused, stealing a glance at her. Her face was passive; trying not to show any emotion. "One morning I heard a lot of noise, people shouting, wolf - whistling, making suggestive remarks. There was a live human in the camp you see. I honestly through it was you". She saw him shake his head. "I thought...that you had somehow got down there and had come to see me and I had to get to you before they did".

"But it was Eve?" she asked, shifting again, clasping her hands together.

"It was Eve, floating through the ash without a care in the world", he said, remembering seeing her almost dancing down the ash ridden hallways, dressed in virginal white and that beautiful hair cascading down her back as arms went to grab her and pull at her. "She wanted to see me, experience Hell just like she experienced Earth, but I had to lock her up for her own safekeeping; kept her in my tower where I knew they couldn't reach her".

"Did you...?" she asked, about to ask if he had slept with her. It shouldn't bother her but it did.

"No, absolutely no" he replied firmly, shaking his head for good measure. She knew he didn't lie. "She tried, repeatedly and well, I rejected her, _repeatedly_ and she resented it. Me, the Devil- the playboy with my reputation - not remotely in the mood for it. You were the only person I wanted". Chloe gave him a look that told him immediately that she did not believe him. "I realised, the moment she tried to..." Lucifer stopped and looked towards her again. Her face still held an unnerving calm. He didn't want to use the word 'seduce' in front of her but that is just what the other woman tried to do. "That..." Lucifer started again. "That voracious need to shag anything that's breathing, it's gone. I didn't want Eve". Chloe laughed. It wasn't the classiest way of putting it but still. "I am being serious", he insisted, holding out a hand towards her so she could take it.

"I've castrated the Devil" Chloe observed carefully.

"Oh no, they are still there, believe me. Dangling happily as you have well and truly seen". His smile did not reach his eyes, but Chloe laughed again. It was a sudden lightness to the conversation that she did not expect, but his face turned grave again. "So...I turned her down and for however long she was in my protection, I went about my daily business". _Torturing the unfortunate souls trying to ignore how sick it made me; torturing them to make me forget about you._ "One day she asked to see me so I went and she asked if she could help me. Me, the fool, believed those innocent eyes. I was so tired of my existence. For the first time in my life, I wanted to be human and know I would die one day".

"Lucifer...please don't say that" Chloe pleaded, immediately swallowing back tears.

"No" he replied, shaking his head. "That was what I wanted, but I should have known better about Eve. It was her way of getting out the tower _and_ her way of satiating that need that I opened up with her on Earth". Chloe nodded. She had seen it. Her on one shoulder, Eve on the other, encouraging him to be bad; be the Devil he was perceived to be or the Devil she _wanted_ him to be. The being of old that was slipping closer to mortality as each day passed.

"She wanted me to be that creature, but all I could see around me were people who were suffering". He had turned bodily towards her now, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb, turning almost hypnotic circles as he considered his words. "They were in Hell when they shouldn't have been. People through one second of inattention caused something horrific and being punished for it. They were not evil. People who did things out of sheer desperation because they were starving or in so much distress that they did something they would not normally do. So I set them free; straight up on the lift up to Dad".

"How...how many did you free?" she asked.

"Enough for Eve to think I was going mad. So did everyone else for that matter" Lucifer responded. He might not have needed sleep or food or alcohol, but he enjoyed them. Normally. But nothing held any appeal any more and it ate him away from inside, gradually gnawing away at him as each hour passed, seeing this place he once ruled and hating every aspect of it even more. He had been made into a torturer but now? She saw his shoulders heave. "I did not have it in me anymore to just go about so much destruction". You might have said that being back in Hell might have erased these emotions he was learning on Earth, but no matter how many miles away she was still there. The bullet necklace he had taken with him burned as he wore it around his neck; a constant reminder of what, or who, was his salvation. A constant reminder that he _would_ get back to her.

"Then Eve disappeared" Lucifer continued. "I thought the demons might have got their hands on her but she was genuinely gone until she turned right back up again. That was when I heard rumours that there was another celestial in Hell and that he had brought her there first".

"Michael?"

"Yes" he nodded. "But I could not find him, but when I saw Eve again she was...was..._wild _but by then I was past caring what she did". He looked up at her, still with a tight hold of her hand. "You were consuming every fibre of my being, even through all that distance. Even however long it had been, even however many eons we were away every time I shut my eyes, it was you. The more vocal demons knew their true King was weakened but they listened to Eve. The rumours of another celestial stopped, Eve refused to tell me where she had been or how she got there and I was too distracted to care".

"Then one day..." he began again although Chloe could see his whole body tighten; each muscle seemingly rigid as he fought against the memory. "I decided to try to clear my head. I went to a patch of wasteland and just sat for hours, days, I have no idea how long it was but next thing I knew I was back amongst the ash. In a cell, tethered to the wall in chains...In so much pain I could not think straight..." She could see tears pooling in his eyes and his hand gripped onto hers, strangling her fingers.

"Lucifer if it's too difficult...You have told me enough. I can imagine the rest" Chloe said sternly.

He frowned, blinking the tears away. "No, I have to tell you. Imagining is dangerous."

"I know" she replied, getting up out of the bean bag with surprising ease, sliding over to his and sitting so she was cuddled up to his side; needing to be closer to him. Her legs were over his lap and his arm around her shoulder. "I think you have told me enough for now. I want to know it all, but we have time".

"Do we?" he responded, gently rubbing his palm over her bare knee.

"Yes" Chloe replied resolutely. "Do you think I am just going to accept you upping and leaving again to go back there where you don't want to be?"

"You may have no choice".

"Oh, no. Trust me. Hell, high water and all of that". As she finished her sentence she moved again, straddling his lap. Chloe leant forward and kissed him, tasting a tear as it fell, desperate to provide him with some form of whatever comfort he needed. Lucifer felt her palm rest on his cheek, that kiss moving across to his lips. He was utterly powerless at that moment, unable to stop the rumble that emanated from his middle as she sighed. "I told you I missed you and you have told me enough for now". She felt a slight smile as he took hold of her hips, pushing her closer to him, forgetting about the blackness of the bruising until it was too late. She did not react though other than to pop the first button of his shorts before he stopped her.

"When you had the urchin, did she come to you easily?" he asked, holding her hips still, just with that touch of pressure that she liked.

It was a strange question but she went with it. "Yes" Chloe replied, just resting a hand on his abdomen. "I was pregnant three months after Dan and I married". A second later she was back kissing down his jaw line not thinking it was weird to talking about her ex-husband by sitting on the lap of her lover. "I thought we might have trouble - if Mom and Dad's problems were genetic, but no, there I was, in labor on the night of our first wedding anniversary".

"But you had no more".

She shook her head. "Dan wanted another. I wanted to work. I was just about managing with Trixie never mind two and well you know how that turned out too". He just hummed an acceptance. "Lucifer? Why did you ask?"

He took a breath. "You heard Raphie refer to you as the Miracle Child".

"I did", Chloe responded. Maybe she would get an answer from him if he was in a sharing mood. "Dad used to call me a miracle all the time but as I got older I used to laugh it off. All of a sudden, after years and years of trying, here I was and yes... I did wonder what your brother meant".

She felt Lucifer sit up straighter and she had no choice to go with him. "You were a miracle. You were made for me".

"What?" she questioned, sitting back so she could look him in the eyes. A tremor ran through her voice as his eyes flashed over her face, trying to read her, watching for those signs he had seen in the penthouse when she began to drift away.

"Dad. He sent Amenediel to bless your parents, so you would be born for me. To save me". Lucifer watched her nod carefully, taking in the barely there expression of confusion on her face. Instantly he pressed tighter on her hips, keeping here there, rather than letting her flee if something within her snapped.

He watched her lick her lips, a movement that sent sparks to where it shouldn't for the seriousness of what he had just said. Chloe breathed in and out, her body rising and falling as she desperately tried to collect her thoughts. For a moment it almost felt as though she was going to faint; her hearing drifting in and out but almost immediately the sensation went. "Well" she started, seeing expectant brown eyes tinged with that almost child-like fear he seemed to harbour. "I suppose now I know heaven, hell, the Devil, angels all exist why Amenediel blessing my mother should be a surprise I will never know".

Lucifer did not know what to say or think. He had seen her almost catatonic, drunk , angry, crying, every range of emotion these past few days apart from this eerie calm that seemed to have descended now. "I'm only on this earth to..." Chloe stuttered, her eyes everywhere except on his. "Your father did it to save you. To redeem you". She shook her head in disbelief. "He created me out of love for you". It was really that simple.

Errant tears stung her eyes as Chloe almost collapsed forward, head resting on his shoulder as he breathed in the light fruit scent of her shampoo. His instinct, to check she was still conscious, was easily satisfied and he wrapped his arms completely around her shoulders. It was almost as though she had suddenly deflated; the life drained from her as she melted to him. "For years" she whispered. "After that stupid, stupid movie, I really didn't think I had a purpose in life. So many times I looked in the mirror and wondered why I was put on this earth and now I know". He could tell she was crying and she heard a gentle 'shush' in her ear. "Mom spent her life expecting me to be her, dragging me to beauty pageants I was never cute enough to win and auditions I failed at. It was worse when Dad died. The last thing he knew of me was me taking my clothes off for money". Lucifer held on to her tighter pushing his fingers through her hair, feeling her body jolt against his. He pressed his lips to the side of her head.

She had not wanted to cry, not now, not ever on this trip but this, the sudden relief of realising she was here for a reason overwhelmed her. It answered so many questions. "Your Dad would have been so proud of all you have done since", Lucifer breathed, feeling her move to sit up again, brushing tears away with the palms of her hands, feeling silly for the sudden outburst even in front of him.

"I know Amenediel told me". The memory was such a comfort.

Lucifer smiled. "Are you?... Are you not angry or upset that he manipulated you into existence?" _Because I am._

"No" she replied genuinely, "because I have so much. I have a job, a home, Trixie, and Dan and were I happy for the most part. I have friends, I have you. I can't ask for anything else and I can't be angry". She ran her damp palm over his cheek. "Lucifer there are so many people in this world who have nothing and nobody and your Dad created them too, each for their own purpose. People who are sick, poor, live on the streets, he did that if you believe it. I've got everything I ever wanted and that's down to your Dad for putting me here in the first place. I can't think any other way. I don't understand it any other way and I don't know enough to say it any other way than I accept it for what it is." _How do I fight against God? Isn't everyone a miracle in their own quiet way?  
_

"You are so good". _Dad made you that way and I should be happy he did. He gave me you, but no, I can't be. Not quite yet. _

Chloe shook her head. "No I am not. I am just grateful. I won't pretend that it's perfect. It's not. These last twelve months. I don't know how I made it from day to day and I know I am still not right". A tear drizzled its way down her cheek that she left to run. "But, your Dad...I hope I make you happy, contented". Lucifer nodded his assent. "Your Dad might have put me here, be putting me, us, through all of this..._shit_...but if we end this together then is that not what we want?"

"Can I have a deal with the Miracle Child?" he offered, hearing a watery laugh in response. "From this point on, you help me, I help you and if you feel scared, helpless, anything you are to say. I am not here to judge you".

"Nor me you" she replied feeling the beanbag sink under her knees as she shimmied closer again, causing a spike through her body as his lips met hers again; finding that comfort that she wanted him to have. Chloe felt his palms slide up her hips, underneath the sun dress and pull her tighter to him.

"Stand up", he offered and Chloe utterly inelegantly extracted herself from his gaze and the bean bag.

"Go upstairs. Wait for me".


	18. Chapter 18

By the time Lucifer reappeared, instead of waiting for him in the bedroom, Chloe had retired again to the deck. He found her lying face down, back in the purple bikini, but on the towel he had been lying on not so long ago. She was facing away from him just listening to the water as the boat bounced along; a gentle breeze sweeping its way down her back and legs. It was so peaceful, serene almost that it made her forget that tightness in her shoulders and that hole in her chest that seemed to track her every move.

"Hey" he exclaimed, unconsciously dragging his eyes up and down her body . "That wasn't where I thought you would wait..." _Or hoped you would._

"Then you have to be more precise next time", she mumbled as she turned her head towards him wearing a welcoming smile as she leant upon on her elbows.

Lucifer sat; letting it go. "I have something for you. Well two things actually". She could see that he had his hands behind his back.

"Go on" she replied, sleepily. He could see her eyes were closing as Chloe leant back down again, waiting for him.

First, with the less dangerous of the two, Lucifer draped a bottle of ice cold water onto the base of her spine. Instead of her jumping in fright he heard a long, pleasurable sigh. "That can stay there forever" she breathed with a slight giggle, the condensation from the bottle absorbing into her skin in the most heavenly manner.

He smiled, before his face turned serious. "Chloe, sit up for me". She heard the hesitance in his voice and complied, wondering what was coming next; whether he was ready to tell her more. Instead as she settled beside him he was dangling the bullet necklace over his fingers in the gap between them, it glinting as it swirled from side to side in the early afternoon sun. He heard what could only be described as a push of air from her mouth as she watched the flattened bullet twist and turn in the breeze. "Will you take it back?" he asked, still holding it. "To wear."

Chloe smiled. "I will" she responded, her voice soft as she remembered his joke. How little did he know then. Chloe turned to allow him to put the necklace on her and she spun around again after she felt his hand lay on her shoulder signalling he was done. "Thank you" she said, turning and sliding her palms over his jaw and pulling him closer to kiss him. With a muffled laugh from him that hit her straight in certain places, she swung her leg over and sat on his lap, knees either side of his hips. Lucifer's hands went to her and pulled her closer so they were chest to chest devouring each other in slow, lazy kisses that tasted of the closeness that bullet once offered but took too much painful time to deliver.

Maybe a minute later, Chloe heard someone clear their throat and she opened her eyes to a stranger - someone else dressed head to foot in black - who was lingering uncomfortably by the door. She felt Lucifer's tongue just run across her bottom lip before she pulled away and smiled at the man. He nodded graciously to the pair. He had seen worse on this boat than a few kisses and he took her attention as his cue to speak. "Excuse me Ma'm, Sir, I was wondering if you would care for something to eat?"

"I think, yes?" Lucifer replied for them turning around before taking a glance at Chloe who thought she had better acquiesce too.

The man nodded and walked back into the body of the boat as Chloe dodged another kiss. "Who was that?" she whispered, leaning slightly to her right to allow her gaze to follow him.

"That is Tomasz" Lucifer replied, trying to pull aside one of the triangles of the bikini top, only for her to slap his hand away should the man see. "He is Alexander's younger brother. He worked occasionally at Lux a few years ago before I...erm..._helped_ them with their visa applications for them to stay here. He is the finest chef in California. Makes the most perfect pan seared Salmon you could ever have the pleasure of tasting". For a man that only ate for the pleasure his mouth was almost watering. After all of this was over, he would have to invite the man back to Lux to cook for him.

Chloe smiled sliding her palms over his neck, criss-crossing her own fingers. "When we go back..." she started, the sentence dissolving into a sigh as she felt him press his lips to her collarbone instead, pulling at her skin. "Will you speak to Maze?"

She felt his breath against her before Lucifer sat back slightly. "If I must". He sounded like a told off child, harrumphing at having to do something he didn't want to do.

"You must" Chloe insisted, trapping his gaze with hers as he felt her thumbs just touch below his ears to hold his head. "She did miss you even if she won't say it. She is angry but that's only because you left her behind".

He sighed. Even underneath it all, she was right. He and Maze had been companions for too long to destroy what they had and yes, she was right. He had left her when he should have at least told her he was going and it _wasn't_ Chloe's place to do that. Almost scrapping like they did in the penthouse was the demon and the celestial of old who had taunted each other for kicks, both of whom he had hoped had grown so much since. "Alright, for you I will".

"Thank you" she smiled, shifting closer and burying her lips in his neck feeling the artery underneath pulsing away. The fact that he took hold of her waist, hands clasping and flexing told her she was hitting all of the right spots. Lucifer slipped his hands down to her hips with every intention of so slowly dragging the pads of his fingers up and down the warm skin of her thighs when his right hand fell on the bruise. The blood under her skin was still rock solid, almost lumpy in comparison to her left and it still worried him.

His lips not engaged, he had room to speak. "In exchange for me seeing Maze, you will go and see my doctor about your hip. I heard how hard you fell..."

"Your doctor?" This was news to her. He had told her he could not get sick.

"Well, a doctor I know. Surgeon in fact" Lucifer offered. Another one that owed him a favour too.

"I think that's a fair swap" she smiled, rolling said hips as he felt her teeth pull his earlobe, otherwise engaged than to fully ingest his words. She snuggled closer feeling her press tighter and Chloe could feel just exactly what she was doing to him.

"And that move is _definitely_ not for public consumption..." Lucifer responded, seeing a curious look on her face as she straightened up. "What?" He was not sure what he had said. It was meant to be a tease but it obviously came out wrong as she lifted away from him, no hands around his neck; no lips on his skin.

"I just thought" she started, a confused look on her face as a rush of adrenalin coursed through her veins. It was utterly unwelcome but Chloe could not help the cloak that descended over her mood, covering her in a thick cloud of something she had no words to describe . "Well, I thought..."

"I thought?" Lucifer asked, raising his eyebrows. Whatever was going on in her mind it was a mystery to him but whatever he had said she had taken against it.

Chloe sighed; her shoulders dropping feeling that blackness descend at her perceived rejection of her. "It doesn't matter" she muttered as she went to slide off his lap.

"No" he said firmly, grabbing hold of her thighs to stop her moving. "It does matter, tell me. I don't understand what I said".

Chloe looked down and placed her palms on his ribs. "I just thought you wouldn't object to well..." She waved her hands back and forth between their bodies to indicate the connextion. He nodded carefully.

"I might have a reputation that will undoubtedly follow me for time immemorial but you don't have to use sex to attract my attention. You have all of it and more" he replied, shifting a little. "I want to show you I want to be different now". Chloe shook her head, blonde strands falling over her eyes. "I can communicate without it and do you know why?" She shook her head again."Because each and every one of those people you kept finding in the penthouse meant nothing to me, but you mean _everything_ to me. I don't know _anything_ about making love to anyone, let alone you...Before, those people, it didn't involve feelings..."

"You are not exactly doing a bad job Lucifer" Chloe noted, a half smile on her face going to brush a strand of hair that was tickling his forehead too. In fact he was doing a very good job. She was shocking herself how much she reacted to his touch. Maybe it was just part of her that nobody had been able to find before. Quite literally.

"They were _sex_, Detective" he replied, almost spitting out the offending word. "Satisfying other people's lusts and granting favours. I just happened to have a good time about it most of the time but they were forgotten about the day after". It was a harsh admission and one that Chloe already knew if she was being honest.

"My angel is a giver" Chloe muttered, eyes downcast.

"What I mean is, you mean more to me than them. You are not there to be used or taken from at my convenience".

She gave him another half smile. "I know this is new Lucifer and I know we are in our own bubble this weekend, but I want to feel enough of you that I _can't_ forget you". She was pressing her lips together, but he could see tears forming in her eyes. "I don't want anyone else ever."

"You'll love someone again" he offered, realising immediately that he had spoken without thinking. Yet again.

"Don't talk like you are going away again. I don't want to hear it", she said, swiping the back of her hand over her cheek. "I don't want to hear it". With that he felt her push off his abdomen with her other hand and stand up moving swiftly into the body of the boat.

Lucifer closed his eyes cursing himself in a whisper as he scrambled to his feet. "You fu...you idiot, Morningstar!"

As they were on a boat, there were only limited places she could go and moving swiftly through the bedroom he could see she had picked up her white dress again. Quickly looking into the other bedroom, she was not there so he shot downstairs. As he looked through from the second sitting room he could see her perched on the prow of the boat, legs dangling over the edge and leaning on the metal bar. She was staring out to sea and for a moment, he stood watching her form. Lucifer blinked as the gentle breeze took her hair and it truly felt as though his heart was about to explode. The love that he felt for her may well be drowning him and he knew she would fight to the last breath, but this was all so new. At times he was a walking mistake and it was only now that he was coming to realise it. Before he moved though he watched her for a few more seconds. Was she even still conscious of her actions? Would he find her staring out see with that blank look that he had seen too many times already for his liking.

Lucifer took a breath and went to sit next to her. "Please don't push me away" he pleaded. If she of all people did that, they what was the pointhim of being here?

"Push me away?" she questioned, still not looking at him but obviously still so present that his question was heard. "I am practically throwing myself at you and you are telling me to forget you. You do all of this and it's to tell me to forget you?!"

"I didn't mean it that way" Lucifer pleaded.

"I decided, when you came back to sleep with you and I wished I had done it years ago". Now there was a revelation, even though Lucifer knew that if she had she would have been even more hurt than she is now. "Everybody", she continued. "Dan, Linda, Mom, they have all been telling me to move on because they think they know what's best for me. Only Linda knows what I was truly feeling towards you, but the first thing I always kept thinking was that you would come back and you I would be together". Chloe pushed an errant hair from her eyes. "You tell me to tell you if I feel scared or helpless, so there you go. I feel scared and helpless and I don't want to forget you".

"Chloe..." he started, trying to keep his voice low and calm. "I am going to make so many mistakes. I don't know how to treat people well". He needed her guidance just as much as her help.

"The last twelve months I have been numb, Lucifer. I have been functioning from day to day, the same routine with work, with Trixie and..." she paused, keeping her voice low as Tomasz was on the upper deck, no doubt setting out their late lunch. "When you make love to me I have never felt so alive and I need that; to feel _human_ again. That first time I actually felt as though I had something on my side and I just wasn't this _shell_..."

Lucifer frowned. "Can I tell you something?" He saw her nod. "I got on this boat to have two days where you and I could talk, where I had to force myself to talk because you deserve to know everything about what happened and I want you to know. I want to share that with you, but I just seem to have such a good way of upsetting you."

"Tell me about Eve then. What she did", Chloe asked. The pressure was building inside her all of a sudden and this adverse mood that had suddenly bubbled up was overtaking her best intentions. He had so much history with Eve, and whilst she had thought she was not jealous, something was niggling inside her that this other human knew so much about him and it risked engulfing her. Yes she had said that he had told her enough for now, but this cloud that had covered her brought it all forward again. "I over-reacted before but that's what I do recently" Chloe sighed.

"Can you please have something to eat first?" He knew she had not had breakfast this morning.

"Lucifer, stop it!" she spat, staring back out to sea again as that anger reared his head again.

"Me stop?" he replied, trying by failing to keep his voice low. "Are you trying to kill yourself?!"

She hung her head. "No..." _Yes, I am. You have to stay. I can't live like this much longer._

Lucifer knew he was about to sound like a broken record. "Chloe you have to accept that I might not be able to change anything. Accept I might have to go back and accept that..." He saw her swallow and he could tell she was crying. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...perhaps I shouldn't have come here. Maybe I should have gone somewhere else". His voice was not raised by any means but it was filled with such anguish that it broke through whatever pain she was feeling inside.

"No please don't think that" she replied, looking at him now. "I am so...happy you chose to come to me and all I want is to enjoy this weekend, honestly and I don't want us to fight". She took up his hand and the darkness that had built a wall between them lifted from her shoulders. "You had no idea how I'd react, if so much time had passed. I could have been long dead but you still came back to me. It's me that should be apologising. I don't feel like the Chloe you knew anymore".

He closed his eyes. "You deserve the world...you saved me from myself; saved me from my own self-destruction and you will continue to do that Chloe".

"Have I? It was me that made you vulnerable" she replied, squinting against tears and the sun. _Yes, but you gave me so much more_. She was running the chain through the fingers of her other hand and saw the nervous shadow cross his face.

"Please don't take it off again" Lucifer asked. He was not put off by begging her if he had to.

"I'm not going to" Chloe responded with a smile that she hoped reassured him, "but I have hurt you so much and I can't forgive myself for it, even if you forgive me so you will have to excuse me flying off the handle for no good reason on you until I can but I can't do it to myself. I need to know what she did to you. I want to understand what she did. I put you there and I have to...I have to reconcile in my head what I'm responsible for".

Lucifer was out of his depth but her face was imploring him and he could not resist. Nobody, ever, had him over a barrel like she did. "I tried to take responsibility too Chloe and it has left us all in such a mess. I could have stayed. I really could, but these things were so much bigger than me, but I understand you need to hear it first hand. From me".

He let go of her hand and brushed a tear from her face with his thumb. "No pressure", he said. "The foods up there. If you choose to eat, you can. If you don't can I have your share?"

Chloe laughed but took the hint. "And you will tell me about Eve?"

"And I will tell you about Eve. Now".


	19. Chapter 19

**Warning for panic attacks, visual hallucinations, incredibly brief mention of rape in a non-graphic way and torture**

The lunchtime spread was overgenerous for two. Fruit, raw vegetables, homemade Greek hummus, crackers, different breads, juices and even though Chloe's appetite had left her, the colours made it tempting. She made a conscious decision that she would try to eat something – for him. She didn't want another argument.

"I think I want to sit inside", Lucifer announced as they examined the table. He wanted to be comfortable, not sitting in a stiff chair if he was going to put himself on display to her like he had never done before. How he could have done with a bottle of Macallan right now, not realising that since he had returned he had not touched a drop of alcohol.

Chloe picked up two of the bowls – one laden with more berries than she thought existed on this planet and the carrots, cucumber and peppers. Lucifer brought the rest, carrying the small table save ferrying it all back and forward. He placed it at the foot of the bed before he sat on the covers up near the top, stretching his legs out. He had taken a bowl of carrots and cucumber. She sat on the bed too, on the other end, so – if she stretched out - they would have been head to toe. Instead she sat legs tucked underneath herself nursing a smaller bowl of melon and grapes that had been on the table. He had to start this is own way even in this slightly contrived atmosphere, it was best she did not push.

Chloe watched as he lay on his side, swirling a carrot stick in the air like a mini baton watching it twirl wondering where to go. It had to be the truth and it would be a weight from him if she knew it all, but what if he broke her heart all over again? What if she broke down out here or she ran from him and fell? He knew he could not fly her and the boat was miles out to sea. Lucifer looked at her carefully; Chloe trying to keep her face passive and free from emotion. She had to be strong for him and he did believe in her, she knew that already.

"I think I must have been knocked unconscious" he began, picking up from where he had left the events earlier that day, of his story as he sat in the wastelands. "Either that or I passed out from pain". The separated, disconnected, fuzzy feeling he remembered was as clear as day, reliving his eyes opening to the darkened room and smell of burning assaulting his nostrils. "I woke up in cell. I thought it was empty bar me but when I looked around there was a demon crouched in one corner by the door".

He could remember the cell in fine intrusive detail; the pattern of the ancient bricks, its walls black with soot, the floors covered in ash and the feel of it under his bare feet he could still conjure up now. His whole body had ached and it took inhuman effort to move his head from side to side; neck sore and his temples throbbed as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. Lucifer knew he had been bleeding as he could taste the iron tang of blood on his lips. "All I could hear was it breathing like it was fighting for air as it watched me, slobbering and this laugh..." Lucifer shivered. He could not even describe the sheer evil of it. Perhaps he had been away too long to realise that that noise had been, one day, all he had heard around him and a noise he had fed off as he himself inflicted undeniable pain on others. Now he was the pursued.

"I didn't realise I was chained to the wall until I tried to move and the demon sprung up – shot across the cell in one leap - rancid breath inches from my face, spitting as it babbled hatred towards me. It must have been brought up from the absolute bowels of Hell to guard me". If he did not know otherwise he was sure the demon was here in the room with him; the memories so real and so vivid it was almost as though the bright walls were closing in around him, turning dark and...He took a breath, trying to push away that suffocating feeling. Lucifer had nowhere to flee to now without breaking her for one last time.

"What did it look like?" Chloe asked tentatively, thinking she had seen him focus on a patch of sunlight on the floor. _He had seen it; sitting there, eyeing up another human like a piece of prime steak._ Neither of them had noticed the window in the roof opening the sky to them both but it was only her that saw the light.

Lucifer breathed again, dismissing it as an obvious hallucination. "It must have been one of Father's early experiments. Its hands were clawed, fingers almost webbed, teeth rotten, and its face..." Lucifer watched her for a second. Despite it all, these creatures had been around him for so long that he knew the worst they could hold but this was all new to her. "It was blind. I could see that. It's eyes were white and it functioned on smell and sound; the way it was..." He paused and swallowed. "The way it was leaning so close to me, I could tell it could not see". It turned his stomach even though it shouldn't; inhaling the putrid stench of its breath. This was the life he had lived for millennia until he was injected with humanity. "I tried to move again and that's when I realised every part of me felt like it was on fire". Screaming muscles, aching head.

For a few seconds, he watched, as she toyed with the bowl of fruit in her hands, trying to examine her face; trying to read her. She seemed calm so he carried on and for Chloe herself, she felt it; that strange ethereal peace that sat floating in her stomach. The peace she had not felt in a long time. "There must have been another demon nearby outside the door keeping watch because seconds after I woke up, the door opened and Eve appeared. She was still dressed in that virginal white dress, looking like a heaven-sent angel but I could see in her eyes...there was something unhinged about her".

_"You are awake" she had observed, cocking her head to one side to weigh up her prey. "At last...I have been waiting a long time for you Luce. You left me..."_

"She dismissed the demon and knelt in front of me; hands on my knees. My trousers were ripped and I could see my skin was covered in grazes and dirt, but she made no effort to..." He remembered her voice. It was still the sweet, charming, beautiful temptation but one he knew nothing of any more.

_"I have been impatient for you, Luce. You went away. I had to come and get you. Bring you back to your home"._

Chloe saw Lucifer shift on the bed, pulling his knees closer tighter to his body. It was the feel of Eve's hands moving up and down his thighs that he needed to wash away. "I knew she wanted me to be like before, even on Earth she had wanted me to be like when she knew me in Eden. She had told me often enough before she disappeared that she wanted that old life again. The serpent, the temptation, the excitement... She wanted before".

"But you are not you before" Chloe observed quietly.

"Live humans don't belong in Hell, Chloe" he said, his voice insistent. "It poisons everyone within it and you humans, with your vulnerabilities, it would take over you. She was being slowly poisoned; by Hell, by me, by the demons..."

Eve had wiped blood with her fingers from his forehead, the vivid reminder of the redness against her alabaster skin stuck in his mind. He had forced his head away from her hands, revulsion creeping over him at the contact. Once, a long time ago, her touch would have been welcome, enjoyed, revelled in. It was too intimate a gesture now as he remembered that odd look of curiosity on her face.

_"Luce? Do you not want me?"_

He remembered raising his eyes to her form; hearing scuffles from outside the cell door from demons who must have been listening in to their King. She had been his lover once but now she was almost transfiguring into the woman before him until with harsh hands she had grabbed his jaw.

_"Are you going to tell me? Luce, you have to tell me. I've asked you before, but you seem to be reluctant". _

It had not passed him by that all he heard was her nickname for him that she had given him the first day she saw his form. It was almost a constant reminder of days long gone.

"Hell has secrets, Chloe" he started. "Secrets the King only holds and ones that allowed me to rule with such power; to make all and everyone afraid of me. There are torture rooms that only I know about. Keys that I only know where they were to open hidden doors...manuscripts, books..." It was a positive goldmine for anyone who knew what to do and a wide open trap for those that didn't.

"Did you tell her?" Chloe asked, all too conscious that the other human could be wreaking havoc.

"Only part" he responded. "Fragments. I made it sound like I was telling her everything, drew maps of places with convoluted routes that I knew would take them eons to find. I led her on wild goose chase half the time". He could only claim his memory had faded as he had been away for so long and did, several times, but each time she came back, not having found what she wanted, there was a new wound on his body.

_"You said you did not lie, Luce..You lied to me."_

He was past fighting. She had become a mistress of torture and it was under his tutelage; observing, learning his ways. He had created his own monster on Earth and in Hell. He had become his own father, drawing out her innermost desires clearly dormant but waiting for that moment. It was as though this Devil she had once revered and worshipped had tumbled so far by simply becoming a human like her.

"So she punished you" Chloe stated. He nodded slowly as something clicked inside her brain. "Why didn't you take the necklace off?" It was that which was making him vulnerable.

"Because I am stubborn Detective as you well know and that bullet was the only thing that kept me sane. I punished myself" he replied matter of factly. "In some sick, twisted backwards way the pain was my reminder of how mortal I wanted to be. How much I wanted to get back to you".

She was about to slide across the bed to hold him when she saw his hand go up to stop her. He was not finished yet. "I don't know how long I was in that cell. Every wound you saw, she didn't inflict them. She got two demons to do it for her; demons that had wanted Maze's place beside me and again, resentment, because I chose her over them". Eve had commanded them as once he had done; these ignorant, classless beings running around her like she was the Queen. The Queen of Hell. "When her searches came back wasted, she became angrier, needier... and I became more exhausted, sliding deeper into the mire of that cell..."

Even when he cried out in pain there was not a flicker on her face as she stood above him, watching the demons as they circled his prostrate form, a mouthful of ash as claws scraped at him when he refused to speak. She would simply offer orders in that pretty voice of hers. Lucifer could feel his heart racing at the memory of hearing the coldness in her tone; a flash of pain in his chest causing him to press on his sternum; bare stomach muscles moving at a more rapid beat of his oxygen deprived lungs.

Chloe was watching him intensely recognising he was starting to panic; symptoms she readily knew herself and she had to let him know she was there. He jumped as he felt her hand rest on his ankle sending a shot of electricity through her own heart in fright. He did not move her though, seeing the desperation on her face for _some _contact with him. "Lucifer, look at me" she offered sternly watching his eyes move back to her. "Breathe with me", Chloe whispered. It was something Linda had taught her to cope and after a few minutes of concentration and following her, Lucifer whispered a 'thank you' to her, feeling calmer and the pain in his chest ebbing away. Chloe herself was comforted to she had been able to do something. She had actually never seen him be so alarmed, or at least to display it so openly but she had _helped_ and he had let her.

_ "Why don't you want any more of that Luce? Is it her? Is it that other human? Has she made you weak?"_

The demons seemed to love having the King on his knees it seemed. "The ones who were sent to guard me saw it as an honour and did anything to help her. It was almost like it a new uprising". He would not be surprised if they turned on her too by now but if asked, he could not care less. It would only be of consequence if dear old Dad sent him back to clear up her mess instead of his own.

"Did she tell you who took her there?" Chloe asked. She already, realistically, knew the answer.

"It could only be Michael" he replied, shaking his head in despair. "None of my other siblings truly hated me that much to help her".

"But you didn't see him"

Lucifer shook his head again, seeing her put the now empty bowl of melon and grapes on the table at the foot of the bed. He didn't say anything but it pleased him as he had barely noticed her eating as he talked.

Eve was that devil on his shoulder that he was so tempted by; the bounty-hunting with Maze and when the other woman had tried to _become her_ for Lucifer's attention. It all added up. "Why did she do it to you, Lucifer?"

"I think", he started, engaging his attention on the feel of her palm on his ankle again, "someone had filled her head that she could overcome me. Whether it was the demons, Michael or something else that combined with me not being the Devil she wanted me to be...I know you say I can be childish but it was like she regressed to a tantrum throwing madam who couldn't get her own way. She wanted the parties, drugs, sex, and alcohol and expected me to provide them for her. In Hell, there is none of that, even for the King. I think she thought there I was that it would all follow, the _experience of Hell_ like it was a fairground ride you could just get off if you felt a bit sick, but I had greater things on my mind. Suddenly I was as boring as her halfwit husband and I was in her way".

"How did you get out?" Chloe asked, rubbing her thumb over the bony part of his ankle.

"My wings" he laughed. "Despite everything they did, despite me hating the sight of them... She put a new demon on guard and I could tell immediately this one was weak, it was timid, small. I persuaded it to let me stand up, unchain me and I actually prayed for my wings". He didn't know what condition they were in; they seemed a target for her and her minions with those whip strikes to his shoulders but desperation spoke. "Me!" he exclaimed all of a sudden, "I prayed for my wings!" he concluded with a laugh.

"Then..." He made a gesture of the wings flying out. They were still white; damaged, bleeding but still white and, as it transpired, just strong enough to get him to LA. "I just knew I had to get out. The demon was that much... in awe of the wings that it took very little for me to overpower it. I didn't kill but getting the keys from it was easy and I just.. took the shroud and...flew. Just upwards and out; trying to get clear of the ash". He had taken the shroud as his clothes were destroyed and dirty.

"To me" Chloe squeaked.

"When you put me in that shower, I just scrubbed my skin until it bled again. It had to get the feel of her off me" he confessed. It was almost as though he read her mind as Chloe opened her mouth to speak but closed it just as fast. She knew what they told rape victims; bathing, destroying clothes. "She didn't...there was nothing, _nothing_, sexual. When you said, when we have s...when we make love that it made you feel alive. It makes me feel clean, renewed, even if I have tried to...tried to make you see we may not be forever and I leave you feeling..." Guilt was a new emotion as well and his attempts at trying yet failing were all too prevalent.

"I understand Lucifer", she breathed. "You want us, you want us to be together in every way possible but you don't want to use me. I understand it. I get it. I am grateful for it; believe me, even if I do lose it once in a while and shout at you". Her words slipped into a self-conscious laugh.

She was his life force. Lucifer nodded. "Come here", he said – an arm outstretched towards her and Chloe took the barely touched bowl of vegetables off him, setting on the bedside table. She slid into his arms, winding a bare leg between his, accepting the affection he now wanted from her. Chloe felt a kiss pressed to her forehead.

"You are not responsible for any of that Chloe. I was and Eve was. You didn't put her there; you didn't teach her all of your ways, you didn't pay so little attention to what you were doing that you allowed it all to crumble". He felt her nod, cheek rubbing against his chest before she pressed an open mouthed kiss to his skin in return. She had been incredibly calm and that disconnect she had been expecting to rear its ugly head had stayed away. "Are you alright?" he asked, worried it might trigger something within her. She had barely said anything of substance in all his explanation.

"If..." she started, swallowing back tears that she knew would threaten if she asked the question, but she had to know. "If she had not been there, would you have come back to me?"

She saw his chest rise and fall under her hand, feeling his breath tickle the top of her head. "I don't know". It was his honest answer. He had no idea if he may or not. Even with the speed in which he quelled the uprising before he had the chance to consider his next move, Eve had appeared. Thoughts of LA, Lux, Chloe, Maze had overwhelmed him but there was no chance, no opportunity to consider leaving again until his life depended on it.

Chloe flattened her palm on his abdomen. "I wanted to know because if I didn't,...well, I imagined all kinds. Now I know, well my imagination can...well, it can shut up". She was about to say 'go to Hell'. Now she knew, she could find a way through anything with him. She was that determined. In a straight fight between her and Eve? Well...He was about speak again when there was a vibrating noise from the dressing table. "That's my phone" she whispered, not making a move towards it.

"Go and get it" he said, releasing her. "It might be your spawn needing you".

Chloe returned a second later and slumped down on the bed next to him. "Its a message from Amenediel". She simply turned the device over to him and he read.

_'I have had visitors. Tell Luci he needs to come and see me'._

"Leave it" he said, putting the cell out of her reach. "Reply to him tomorrow evening when we are back home".

"Are you sure?" Chloe asked. She assumed it might be Raphael but Amenediel had said 'visitors'. Plural.

"Completely" Lucifer responded, determined that now they had broken through the final conversation, tonight, tomorrow would just be for them. "Leave it until tomorrow".

She did has he asked and cuddled up closer to him, relishing the warmth and comfort he was offering her, wrapped up in his arms. She was tiny against his broad shoulder. "Lucifer?" Chloe asked after a moment. "Shall we take the food outside again? Sit in the sun?" She saw a simple nod in reply and they stood up, taking the table back and settling down for the afternoon in a strange tranquility where there are no more barriers to be crossed.

At least not until they met Amenediel's 'visitors', but he seemed determined not to think about them so neither would she.


	20. Chapter 20

**This chapter and the next are going to give us (and C&L) a little break from angst and trauma :) **

Chloe stood as the water cascaded down her face, letting it sting as she turned the shower up to its powerful maximum the noise almost overwhelming as it bounced from the tiles and floor. Her eyes closed, she simply listened to the water as it hit her breathing in the steam to clear her head. Slow, deep breaths as her lungs were infused with oxygen, just as Linda had taught her. She hadn't panicked at all today, nor felt those unnecessarily familiar flutterings in the pit of her stomach, but now she was alone in the shower, they were back again, lurking, taunting.

She had heard Lucifer go downstairs when she had announced she was going call Linda then have a shower to try and rub off all the sun tan lotion she had drowned herself in today. Her skin felt slimy and had that unmistakable coconut smell that she needed to scrub it off. When she told him to her surprise he had simply smiled, kissed her on the cheek and said he would be back upstairs shortly.

Now as she stood under the water she felt a touch bereft and definitely alone. Not that they have actually ever tried it in the shower but she had at least expected one crude remark from him but none came. How funny it was that before she could easily have punched his lights out for the constant innuendo, but when he stopped, she missed it. Chloe stepped back an inch or two to feel the warm water started to run down her torso, brushing water out of her eyes with her hands.

From the small shelf beside her Chloe pulled the bottle of lavender shower gel, popping it open and pouring a generous amount of clear liquid into her hand. Gently she breathed in the earthy floral scent as she ran her hands down her arms lathering her skin, pushing at tense muscles. It had been one of Linda's suggestions to help her sleep; lavender to help her calm down but she was not sure whether it was working. She liked the smell though and Chloe closed her eyes, slowly hosing off the suntan lotion and the day, trying but failing to ignore the adrenaline in her system now that she was on her own.

It was only early evening and it was still warm, but she could tell Lucifer was little restless too. Maybe it was being stuck on a boat but more likely it was Amenedial's message that was still sitting on her phone. She felt bad for not even acknowledging it but she had to be guided by Lucifer this weekend and, if Michael or even Eve were after him, would he want himself exposed by one foolish text message, and one he may never forgiver her for? A cold shock suddenly assaulted her senses. What if those two had been to see Amenediel, and worse so, Charlie? Chloe sighed. There was nothing she could do about it. She was certainly not going behind Lucifer's back to speak to his brother or even Linda about it. She could have sent a text back; she had plenty of opportunities to do so but there had been enough sneaking around for a lifetime. She would be patient and wait.

A number of peaceful minutes later, refreshed, hair washed and wrapped in an incredibly expensive towel Chloe regarded herself in the bathroom mirror. Her hair might have been plastered to her shoulders and her face scrubbed clean of make-up, but she did not seem as tense. The dark patches under her eyes were still there and the tension in her shoulders was still obvious, but deep inside her middle, Chloe was breathing easier. Maybe it was knowing or maybe it was just the fact that Linda was right about the lavender and it would wear off soon enough. Carefully Chloe patted her hair about to give it a blast with the hairdryer where there was a knock on the bathroom door. A knock?

"Hello?" she asked curiously wondering if it was one of the brothers, but why would they be up here knowing Lucifer was downstairs? A flash of renewed panic ran through her – she was in a bathroom, half-naked and alone after all - until she saw the door open six inches and Lucifer filled the gap. "You don't have to knock you know" she said, smiling at him through the mirror.

"I thought it polite," Lucifer replied, still standing just outside the bathroom door.

"It is polite" she replied, turning to face him, "but you don't have to knock for me when I'm in the shower". He did have a few lessons to learn it seemed, but the change in him, even in these few days was noticeable. Maybe out of this they could find a balance.

"Shall I just go back and barge through then?" he asked, a smile widening on his face as she shook her head.

Chloe laughed. "No" she replied, shaking her hair feeling drips of water cascade down the back of her shoulders. Lucifer watched as a drip slipped down her skin and resisted leaning over to touch her and swipe it away.

"Might I borrow your telephone?" he asked suddenly as he continued to watch her as she peeled her hair off her damp skin to comb through with her fingers. The temptation to reach forward was itching at him. "I will speak to Simon now".

"Simon?" she asked, looking back through the mirror seeing a darkening look on his face. A thump in her chest wanted him to move closer to her but she could tell he was respecting her boundaries. Not that they really had any any more.

"Dr Fraser. About your hip". He gestured loosely towards her side.

"Oh" Chloe responded. "But Lucifer its almost seven o'clock in the evening"

"I know, but he'll answer for me". His response sounded almost ominous and Chloe wondered what the favour Lucifer had done was actually for. He was maybe two feet away from her now, slowly creeping into the bathroom towards her. "I was thinking we might go portside before dinner". He deliberately mentioned dinner to test her out but he saw all too quickly that she noisily picked up a wide toothed comb and began to draw it through her hair. "I er...I thought you might like to take a walk on the beach before we do though".

Chloe perhaps realised for the first time in that second that they still had to get to know each other beyond being work colleagues and friends. He had only been back a few days and almost the first thing she did was sleep with him. Usually you had dates, kisses and saying goodbye on the doorstop first. There are parts of your personality too that you keep to yourself and parts you share. She would perhaps share more with Lucifer than she had with Dan and even more so than Marcus. Chloe put the comb back down and turned around to him. He had still not budged and she took a step forwards, reaching up and dotting a kiss to his lips. "I'd like that".

"Good" Lucifer replied, taking up her wrists and stretching her arms out to her sides as he perused the towel she was wearing. "That isn't the most appropriate wear for the beach though". He saw that look on her face again. The one where she was just about to affectionately roll her eyes at him, but before she could do it, he let go of her wrists and pulled the towel down. She caught it, squealing as the cold air met her damp skin, just as it arrived at her waist. "Whatever you wear though put some shoes on. Sneakers. The beach is bit rocky".

She did not see him again until he appeared just as she was finishing getting dressed, sitting on the edge of the bed, doing up her the laces on the sneakers as he suggested. Chloe had already noticed they were very close to land and yes, the beach was more than scattered with stones and rocks. In fact, from her brief view as she leant over the side of the boat just before, there was little sand to be had. She could see why he chose it though; the road was tens of feet above and there were clearly no houses up above.

Instead of saying anything to her, Lucifer simply stood in the middle of the room. He was just staring at her. She looked like something that Heaven had sent especially for him. Oh... _bugger_. Lucifer shook his head to dismiss the thought.

"What?" Chloe asked suspiciously as he eyed her up. Unintended beach waves from not being bothered to dry her hair properly, a halter necked yellow sundress that just about landed on the side of her interpretation of decent and white sneakers, that she was just doing up.

"Nothing" Lucifer muttered quickly, painting on a smile. He actually looked embarrassed at being caught staring at her - if that was possible of the Devil. He quickly stepped across the room, holding out a hand for her.

"Lucifer..." she replied as she stood up. "Again you can look but don't...leer at me...at least not in public..."

He raised his eyebrows. "I like leering. I could call it a hobby". In a flash, there was the Lucifer of old, positively salivating at the sight of her. Instead, Chloe got up on tiptoes above to kiss him when he pressed fingertip to her lips. "Are they new?" he asked pointing down at her feet.

She looked down. "Not 'new', new. Why?"

"You might want to take them off until we get onto the beach. Alexander isn't as close to land as he would like so we need to get our feet wet. You don't want to destroy them" he observed.

"There were sixteen bucks Lucifer", she replied, going to the dressing table and sliding a hair tie around her wrist. He sounded more sensible that she did and she was not remotely bothered by the loss of a pair of $16 Target sneakers.

"The principles the same" he insisted. Was he actually telling her off being careless? "Unless you want to be carried across the water..."

That second, Chloe's eyes lit up and Lucifer kicked himself. Hard.

After following him out of the boat, backwards down a ladder where she knew he was standing far too close and staring up her dress and a piggy back later, Chloe was placed gently on the sand. Looking ahead she saw why she realised even more why she needed shoes. The cove he had brought them to might have a small patch of sand, but for the most part it was rocks. She could see little caves and inlets and after she had taken a quick glance around, he took her hand.

They walked perhaps twenty or thirty yards away from the waters edge. The sun was still fairly high in the sky but it did feel as though the day was slowly drawing to a close. The conversation seemed like hours ago and a peace seemed to have descended on them both as they wandered, scuffing the sand underneath their feet as they walked, not saying a word. A minute later, Chloe spotted the darkness of a cave, intent on exploring. Lucifer, instead of objecting to being pulled towards it, just followed with a word.

Once inside, she let go of his hand, feeling her way along the wet and slimy rock wall, walking a few feet further into the cave and balancing on a rock, hands clasped together now and looking far too innocent for his liking. Lucifer was a few feet further behind her having wandered maybe ten feet to the other side. "Thank you for bringing me here. Well thank you for the whole weekend" Chloe smiled watched him step from rock to rock, just as careful underfoot as she had been. She almost forgot he could hurt himself in her presence if he slipped or banged his head. Lucifer had already found out that if he stretched upwards he could just about touch the ceiling of rock above them.

"It's a pleasure" Lucifer replied, smiling back at her. "Even thought it not half over yet". He watched her perched up on the rock as Lucifer took long strides over the water closer to where she was standing, finding the relative safety of the opposite wall seconds later. He turned and regarded her, scowling slightly but hoping she did not see it as there was a question on his mind. "Chloe..." he started, not wanting to ruin it but he had to ask. It bothered him too much not to. "Did you speak to Linda?"

She nodded. "Booked in at 4.30 on Tuesday. I need to be able to cope" she said. The words 'if you go' were unwritten and her voice robotic. "Did you speak to Dr Fraser?"

"Six o'clock on Monday as long as you can. I thought he could come to the penthouse. It will be more private there" he offered, leaning back slightly against the wall of the cave, hands behind his back and letting the cool rock inflitrate him. "Bearing in mind..."

Chloe hesitated. Did she want to know what Dr Fraser had done to warrant a favour from the Devil? Perhaps after he had treated her. Or did she want to know before so she could work it through? Chloe decided, for now, not to ask one way or another. "I will have to bring Trixie" she replied instead. "Dan can't take her Monday night. He's on a late shift".

"I am sure we can keep your spawn quiet while he looks at you" he replied with a smile. Both of them were listening, watching the tide lap against the rocks at the entrance to the cave

"Can I ask you something?" Chloe questioned, seeing him nod in the affirmative. "Can I...can I see your face?"

"This one or the other one? " His question was dangerous as he walked closer to her, blocking out some of the evening sunlight as he neared her on her slightly lofty position.

"The other one" Chloe replied, quietly. "I saw you before but I didn't _look." _She realised that she had never actually touched his devil face. If she did not know what was to come for her, maybe that would be the final act of acceptance.

"Come back into the light a bit" he said, holding out his arm for her. She stepped carefully off the rock and they walked to the mouth of the cave, him still slightly in shadow. Lucifer was about to beg a kiss as a 'condition of sale' but refrained. This wasn't about bargains any more with her. "Are you sure?" he asked. The last thing he wanted was to upset or scare her again, even though it pained him. She had seen him in his full form in the penthouse and at the Mayan and not run, despite her past fears. She held his gaze and Lucifer suppressed a smile at the determination that was written all over her face. Maybe she was a glutton for punishment too.

Chloe straightened her neck and shoulders, trying to convey a message. "Yes".

Lucifer nodded, taking a step back so he was fairly sure he was out of sight in the cave. She followed and took up both hands he was holding out. Without another word, he closed his eyes, thinking of all those things that made him want to rip shreds off the world. A minute later he could feel it; his skin tightening, pulling at his eyes, his nose, his lips and finally he cracked open his eyes to find her staring at him. She was wide-eyed but yet this time, there was not a scrap of fear on her face, much like she had been that last time. All of a sudden she flew forward, grabbing hold of his jaw and pressing her lips to his. Lucifer was taken back for a moment, almost falling back into the rock wall. He almost forgot how to react until he relaxed as much as the thick, hard scars on his face would let him. "Chl...Chloe" he stuttered. She felt gentle push on her shoulders. "Wait a moment".

She looked at him slowly. "I'm sorry" she replied, her heart hammering both at her sudden actions and the fear he was about to reject her. "I don't..." She was about to say she didn't know what came over her but stopped when she saw this face slowly return back to normal.

"There is no need to be sorry, detective" Lucifer responded, his voice soft as he drew a fingertip down her temple. "I simply cannot feel you properly. This..this skin...it has so little sensation that if you do that...well, the scars are so thick that human touch...I can feel you but I think its my head telling me you're there..." She should be scared of him; he was the Devil after all but it seems she could see right through him.

He saw the barest of smiles on her face. "I did it...I did it because I want you to know that whatever happens, I accept you." Before he could speak she shushed him. "I know its only me and I know I am not much in this world, but I just want you to know that". In her own head, she had still not made it up to him for behaviour before he went. Chloe only hoped he understood just how vulnerable she was; just how much Kinley had take advantage of that as well.

Lucifer nodded. "And I know that".

Chloe simply smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her off her feet so she was tight in his embrace. All he could breathe was the soothing lavender that had she had bathed him. "Shall we walk a little further and then go back? He asked quietly in her ear."I think we should watch a film tonight".

Chloe smiled. It had been beyond ages since she had seen a movie. "Yes, lets" she whispered back as she was placed back down and they began to step out of the cave, him leading her by the hand. "On the proviso its not about singing fish or has an insufferable song you will torment me with ad nauseum".

_"Let it g..." _

Chloe whipped her hand out of his and started to move past him back towards the shore, seeing her target of the Elizabeth May bobbing in the water. "Don't even try it Morningstar"

She continued to walk, striding across the sand, as Lucifer almost had to break into a run to catch up with her. He knew she teasing him, he thought, but with the mood swings she had been suffering from recently he could not been too sure. "Detective? Wait!" She was almost taking her shoes off again by the time he caught hold of her hand; her back still to him. "I'm sorry" he said. "I shouldn't have done that". He saw her shoulders jump and her hand went to her face, covering her mouth. "Chloe...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset".

"Upset?" she asked, spinning around, taking her hand away to reveal a smile. "You are so easy to wind up".

Lucifer was trying to keep stony faced in response, yet inside he was relieved and let go of her hand so she could lean down and undo her laces. "I am sure I can find something more _adult_ for you, Detective". She felt his hand touch her lower back, rubbing through the material of her dress.

"Good" Chloe replied, straightening up and tying the shoelaces together so she could carry the sneakers as she was picked up and he started their journey across the water back to the boat.

As she was set down on the bottom rung to climb up the ladder again, it suddenly struck her that his definition of 'adult' might just be entirely different to hers.

Now she really was not sure what to do.


	21. Chapter 21

Even though he had been pretending not to notice, Lucifer had counted almost every mouthful of food she ate over dinner. The pan seared salmon with steamed vegetables had done the trick and the fact she was now making her way through a heavily flavoured lemon, lime and peppermint sorbet encouraged him that Tomasz had at least found something she liked. Under orders he had not stinted on the sugar or the portion, but Chloe, buried underneath the positively heavenly flavours had genuinely not noticed and it pleased him.

His was lychee and lime but under the evening sun, the sorbet had almost melted to mush as Lucifer had been more interested in watching her, hoping Tomasz had also followed his request for the nibbles for the movie. Peanut butter cookies, sweet – _only sweet_ – popcorn and his beloved gummy bears. The latter of course were for him, but calorie-loaded snacks otherwise prevailed. Champagne had been offered and declined and instead they were drinking ice-cold sparkling water.

"You were right about Tomasz" Chloe suddenly offered, dropping her spoon into the empty bowl with a satisfied sigh. "He is the best chef in California".

"The devil never lies" Lucifer replied, arching an eyebrow at her as a smile encroaching on his lips. "Now, do you want to sit out here or go inside and watch our film?"

Chloe took a deep breath inhaling the clear dusk air stretching her legs a little. "I need to call Trix to say goodnight but let's stay out here for a while". The air was still very warm and she just wanted to enjoy the darkening sky as it rolled above them and the peace that surrounded her. Relish it whilst it lasted.

"I will get Tomasz to clear this away", Lucifer offered, in fact was up and out of his seat, before she could object and say she would do it instead.

Ten minutes later, Chloe was lying back down on the deck where they had been this morning, watching the fluffy clouds float above her as she spoke to her daughter. Lucifer was to her side, his fingers lazily entwined in hers watching her as she laughed at the long, and clearly convoluted story her child was telling her. He watched her again, carefully, smiling, eyes sparkling in a way that only rarely found its way to her face these days. Chloe was barely allowed to ask a question from the chattering tornado on the other end of the line, only finishing when Lucifer clearly heard the Douche's voice asking to speak to his ex-wife. His hackles rose immediately. Not so much for him but it concerned him how Daniel might react to Chloe taking up with him which undoubtedly at some point he would rub repeatedly into the former husband's face.

"Hey Dan" she said, feeling Lucifer shift and just grip a little tighter to her fingers. He could only hear her side of the conversation, disappointingly but he continued to listen over the smooth sound of the boat as it continued its way up the coast.

"No, no I'm fine" Chloe said, clearly responding to a question. "I see she had a good day at school...No, I just decided to have a weekend to myself...I'll get her from school tomorrow... Where? Just up the coast. Nowhere special". Lucifer flinched at the 'nowhere special' comment until he realised seconds later it was a deliberate attempt to put Dan off the scent, or at least try to discourage him from too much cross-questioning. She was, however, pulling an 'oh shit' face at the man lying by her side. "Dan... there is no need to interrogate me like a suspect. No, I'm in Santa Barbara". Lucifer turned to look at her as she released a barely disguised sigh. In truth she knew she was way off being in Santa Barbara as the boat had been travelling for far longer than just 90 miles up the coast, but equally she knew he knew no-one there to ask. "Yes, I promise I will collect her from school tomorrow Dan. I am perfectly capable of getting myself back in time for work". Lucifer could hear her voice and how tense it was becoming. She sounded like she was talking to a 2 year old. "Would you be so kind as to put Trix back on for me please?" She was being ultra polite. Her sign she was brewing a temper.

There was a pause. Clearly her ex-husband must have been satisfied or taken the hint. "Hey baby" Chloe smiled, listening to another question. Lucifer could hear her offspring was whispering. "Lucifer's fine, baby. He's here...Yes of course I'll give him a hug goodnight for you". Chloe was watching him now, pulling her tongue out at him as the stern look on his face melted just a touch. "No I promise I will...As soon as I can... Alright, goodnight monkey, sleep tight". Chloe smiled as she put the cell down.

"So I get a good night hug do I?" Lucifer asked, a provoking smile on his face. In all honesty he was quite touched and hoped that the Douche had not heard his child talking about him too. It was the last thing Chloe needed to have the two men competing over her.

Chloe sighed. "I have to pass it on. I've been told to". She shifted again when her cell buzzed with a message, which she picked up happily, thinking it was Trixie. Instead, as he leaned close, Lucifer saw it was Ella. Chloe had given up protesting about personal space as she felt his chin rest on her shoulder so he could see what was on the screen.

_"__Hey ladies! Tribe night Friday? xxxxxxxxxxxxx"_

"Tribe night?" Lucifer enquired, taking the cell off her, seeing the message had gone to several people. "Colour me intrigued Detective. Something I need to know about or perhaps more importantly something I should be around to witness?"

"Yeah right" she replied, trying not to smile at the expectant look on his face. "Ella, me, Maze and Linda. Tribe night. Ladies only".

"I could put on a dress!" he exclaimed, passing the cell back to her. If eyebrows could leer, his were, except quickly realising from the look on her face that he could not charm his way into this one. "So where is it and are you going?"

Chloe paused for a second. "We usually decide last minute where unless its something special...but if you don't mind I'd like to go". This time she actually felt as though she wanted to go; not to be dragged with a heavy heart and little enthusiasm for anything around clubs with too much noise. Trouble was that guilt that still tortured her, she didn't want to leave him alone thinking she had somehow abandoned him.

"I'm not your keeper, Detective" Lucifer responded, unable to understand why she was asking his permission to do something as simple as going out with people they both classed as friends. "The urchin can Devil-sit and you can have a good time".

She turned to him. "You are actually offering to babysit my child?"

"Devil-sit Detective" he responded. "She will be Devil-sitting". _ Yeah, she will be looking after me more like._

Chloe smiled and quickly tapped in an 'of course xxx'. Ella was always excessive in her kisses. Three was respectable. As Chloe put her phone down, hopeful of no more phone calls or texts, a thought struck her. _He was planning still be at her house on Friday and was actively offering to be with her child so she could go out. No persuasion, no hints, no nothing. He was clearly changing. _She decided not to say a word though and settled again until another thought decided to pop up. He must have heard her intake of breath.

"Detective?" His voice was a mix of curiosity and wariness.

"I just remembered something" she replied, swinging her head back to face him. Why she felt guilty about this little tidbit she would never know. "I only opened two of those bags you got me..."

"Actually" Lucifer responded slowly, eyes examining her face. "I'd like you to take the third one home and open it privately there". It was more by luck that judgment that she had left that other bag - the one with the name she did not recognise. It was a nice treat for him as well as her, but it was a question for another time if she would wear what was inside.

"Oh" Chloe replied, frowning a little unable to push away that annoying niggle of suspicion at what he was up to particularly as he used the word 'privately'. "Alright" Chloe responded, a ill feeling dithering in her stomach for a moment which she chose to try to ignore. It can't be that bad, she thought to herself. Those two bikinis he bought for her were something she might buy on a day she had more confidence if it was not for the inevitable price tag they carried. She settled down again, linking her fingers back with his.

They lay in companionable silence for a while with no eyes on the time when he saw her shiver. The boat was still moving and the wind had picked up a touch but he didn't feel the cold. Clearly she did though in that little yellow sundress and close examination had revealed goosebumps on her legs. "Might I suggest we go inside and start on that film?" Lucifer asked seeing her nod and get up.

He left her to collect the movie snacks as Chloe sunk into one of the beanbags downstairs. The television in front of her must have taken up half the wall and she breathed out heavily and stretched almost every muscle in her body, feeling some tension in her back release. This was just so _nice_ to have this time before they had to go back. She didn't want to think it might end, not what the next few days would bring. Perhaps she should take a leaf of out the Lucifer of olds book and just live for the moment and worry about tomorrow when it actually happened or didn't happen as the case may be.

She was drawn from her thoughts by Lucifer passing her the remote control and the frankly enormous blue bowl of popcorn in his other hand. "Your choice", he offered simply, sliding down with a disgruntled noise into a too small beanbag. Chloe took the remote and started to spin through the channels. There was almost too much to choose from as she flicked past the sport, music channels and those slightly more 'adult' movies that her brain had flicked to with his comments before. Would he really try and sit with her to watch something like that? It was probably his standard fodder, but was she judging him too much? Out of the corner of her eye she saw his expression was blank, the bowl of popcorn installed on his lap whilst he waited. Maybe she was being unfair, or at least to this version of him.

"There we go". she offered, putting the remote between them on the floor. "I've always wanted to see this".

After inhaling his first handful of popcorn, Lucifer saw 'Crimson Peak' scroll across the bottom of the screen. "But if you don't want to watch it we can find something else", she added nervously. They hadn't even managed a proper date yet, or did this count as one? Joking about pornography to herself aside, she actually did not know what he might enjoy to watch or if he was just doing it to please her. He took the remote from the floor, scrolling through again.

"If you want horror..." he started. "How about that?" She saw 'Don't Look Now' on the screen. "Alexander has some classics on here, and that certainly is one, but I did say it was your choice, so your choice".

He watched as she flicked through a few more channels but returned to 'Don't Look Now'. If she was going for horror then she would take the Devils recommendation. After all, who better would it be to recommend?

Thirty minutes into the film, Chloe had migrated from her beanbag to his, legs over his lap and the bowl of popcorn now balanced somewhere between the two of them that she had dipped into just as much as he did. The gummy bears had been stashed for later. Lucifer had seen his film a million times over already, but besides Hot Tub High School it was one of his favourites. They had watched film mostly in silence apart from his occasional teasing when she flinched at a scary bit. "You are a homicide detective, Detective" he had said. "How can you jump at a horror film?"

"The first time I visited a set to see Mom", she'd replied, recalling a none too pleasant memory from childhood. "It was a low budget, cheap, generic and nasty version of a 'zombie taking over LA' movie. It's not nice when you are 8 and see your Mom covered head to foot in blood smashing someone over the head with an axe. You think its real...I thought it was real".

"Oh..."

When she jumped again and again, he just didn't comment, opting instead to gently pull her hair away from her shoulder or she could feel his thumb brush over her kneecap trying in some silly attempt to soothe the memory that kept encroaching on her. Lucifer had thought about just suggesting something else but he could feel she was falling asleep, body relaxing, getting heavier and Lucifer gently removed the precariously balanced bowl of popcorn for fear it was going to spill. He set it on the floor to his right and then contemplated the predicament he was in. She was sound asleep and he needed to move her somewhere more comfortable notwithstanding he was slumped on an infernal bag of polystyrene. He turned off the telelevision when he was convinced she was asleep not really caring for himself about the end of the film; one arm across her back and the other under her legs. Nope. Not happening. Lucifer had absolutely no purchase to stand up. His wings might have helped if he was not entirely sure that he would not have taken out the dressing table with him so he had to find another way.

Practically falling off the bean bag he was able to slide out from underneath her, kneeling on the floor as she slumped back onto the warmth that his body had left, still out cold. Lucifer smiled and shook his head at the woman before him, still not able to understand it all fully. Now that he was mobile he could pick her up properly.

Carefully he walked upstairs with her in his arms placing her on the bed. The doors were still open and whilst it was now dark a gentle breeze swept around the room. Ever so carefully he began to undress her, fishing out what he assumed was sleep attire from her bag. A thin white vest top, grey shorts and... Lucifer sighed. Not a single scrap of lace in sight. He was glad he had done something about that already. Lucifer was just about to pull the sheet over her when his hand fell to her hip; regret and sadness hitting him straight in the chest. How had she got to the point of drinking so much she could hurt herself like that? Ever so gently he pushed a fingertip against the bruise, yellowing now around the edges. He was not one that experienced pain very often but the way she had moved in her sleep when he did it, only caused him to be even more concerned. Hopefully Dr Fraser could assist.

As he succeed in getting her changed, Chloe barely moved apart from a little sigh that caused him to smile to himself. For Lucifer himself once she was settled, he walked out onto the decking on the boat. He would sit and think for a while and just admire the beauty of the world he wanted to stay in. The noise in his head had lessened since he arrived. He had not had an alcoholic drink nor a smoke in a long time and oddly craved neither.

It was approaching almost 1 am when Chloe woke, startled from sleep by something but she was not sure what. Reaching for him, she saw the otherside of the bed had not been slept in. In fact it was cold and entirely undisturbed. "Lucifer?" she half-yelled; thinking he might be downstairs but unable to filter that trace of panic in her voice.

"Out here".

Chloe got up and followed the voice; finding him lying on the deck again, stretched out like a cat. "The sun's gone in" she responded, deadpan as she stood in the doorway.

"I like the stars. I made those stars" Lucifer replied, opening his eyes at last to find her standing to his left. "Come on" he said, raising a hand to her after gesturing vaguely near his groin. "Climb aboard, Detective".

Chloe pursed her lips and her answer was simple. "No".

"No, detective?" he replied curiously. He could see she was teasing him but nevertheless. Instead she walked off towards the prow of the boat, sitting down again legs dangling over the side. Lucifer got up and prowled over to her, sitting down so his longer legs were either side of hers, his front to her back. His arms slid around her waist and Chloe felt a kiss to the back of head.

"What would you like to do tomorrow...today?" he asked, as she felt the tips of his fingers move her hair away from her neck so he could keep kissing her. That and the cold breeze sent shivers down her spine.

"I've always wanted to go Santa Rosa Island" she offered, head flopping back onto his shoulder as his lips tracked around the shell of her ear.

"Then we will" he breathed.

Chloe smiled and turned slightly so she could look him in the eye. "Thank you for coming back to me". He was about to respond when she put her fingers to his lips so she could carry on. "I feel..._alive_ again Lucifer. I think, one day, I can be me again. With some help".

He smiled, leaning down to briefly kiss her. "I'm glad. I just..." Lucifer sighed, still feeling thoroughly guilty. "I don't want to waste a second".

"That's probably when you are still awake at gone 1 am..." Chloe offered, sinking back against the solidity of his chest.

"Maybe" he replied, "But no. I missed you so much, but you need rest. I don't". He was speaking into her hair now, breathing in the lavender from the shower. "I do love you". He had been dead inside for so long. Wine, Women and Song was just a mask it seemed. Chloe smiled to herself, her heart jumping when she turned completely to look him in the eyes. "I am far from perfect Detective. You know that and I will make terrible mess of it all and at times it won't be pretty, but I think you know that already too". _Whatever is waiting for me with Amenediel sits in that category._ "I don't do proper relationships, but I want to try for as long as we've got".

"I can be patient", Chloe offered, staring up at him wide eyed. Lucifer nodded, pressing another kiss to her temple, following her hairline to behind her ear again. Chloe breathed out through her nose, feeling his hands move to the front of her vest. For a moment, underneath a brewing desire for her, he wondered what on earth going on with the buttons on her vest. She could feel his frustration and placed her hand on his. "They are decoration, Lucifer..." she laughed. "They don't open".

"Oh for fu..." he replied, relaxing back. "You humans are odd. What is the point of a button that just sits there? Whoever designed this needs a trip downstairs for someone to have a word with".

Chloe was laughing now even though she knew she shouldn't. He was about to pull the vest over her head when her voice stopped him. "Lucifer..." she asked all of a sudden, twisting back to look him in the eye again. "While you're here, will you stay with me and Trixie? And before you say it, you are not taking advantage of me or my home. I'd just like you there. If anyone is looking for you Lucifer Lux will be the first place they look".

"Its more secure at Lux. Riddled with cameras" he offered. He felt her body become heavy as though she had accepted his words. "Chloe I will stay as much as I can. You and the spawn can stay at Lux subject of course to the Douche".

"She is my spaw...she is my daughter", Chloe replied tersely. "Dan already has more contact than the court order allows anyway"

Lucifer frowned. He was learning more and more about Chloe every day. "Oh..I thought you two were quite amicable now".

"We were" she replied, settling back against him again. "In the beginning and now were but in the middle...his psycho mother pushed to get a Court order, thinking I wouldn't let him see her. Dan and I had a plan, an agreement but the Court actually ordered less contact. It backfired on her. She never like me because I was a B-movie actresses daughter. I wasn't a good catholic girl who just wanted to cook and breed a houseful of grandchildren for her".

"Religion is the root of all evil", Lucifer replied in response, "and I for one I am glad you are not. Look, Chloe, neither of us know what's going to happen tomorrow or any day".

"Live for the day" she muttered quietly. How ironic that it was what she was thinking of before.

"Come one then" he said, getting up. "As I always say, all good non-catholic B-movie actresses daughter's should be being shagged senseless by the devil himself in the wee hours of a Sunday morning even if their former witches in law object". He heard her laugh, a real, free, happy noise that was music to his ears.

"Don't make me think of Dan's mother, Lucifer please or mine for that matter!" she exclaimed as he helped her up and the pair turned back towards the doors.

"Can_ I_ think about your mother instead?" he offered, more concerned with her ass as she walked ahead of him, the breeze playing with her hair.

"Lucifer... just...no, please no" she pleaded, shaking her head in exasperation.

"Go on please, just for ten minutes...your Mum is hot..." She could not help but hear the whine in his voice and stepping over the threshold of the bedroom she spun back towards him.

"Just... _stop..._ now Lucifer! Stop!"

"Please? Five minutes then?!" His question was responded to by the door sliding shut in his face.

"Detective?!"


	22. Chapter 22

Chloe woke as it approached 9 in the morning, eyes fluttering open to the bright blue sky she could see through the deck doors. Vaguely she could hear water running, assuming it was the shower and Lucifer due to the absence of his presence in her bed. She stretched from fingertips to toes and back again, splayed out in a starfish shape with the luxury of the large bed to herself. Closing her eyes for a moment, Chloe felt that fluttering in her stomach again, of the beginnings of panic and anxiety at even thinking of tomorrow. She always thought the worst now and it was almost as though her body knew what was waiting for her even though she did not know what it was herself.

Carefully she reached across for her cell, seeing it flashing and finding two messages - the first from Linda and the second from Amenediel both unfortunately on the same subject. She read Linda's first. It could be safer that way.

_"__Hey, hope you are enjoying your weekend. A needs to speak to L urgently. Their brothers came here. Don't want to disturb, but call me? xx" _It was timed only two minutes ago. Maybe it was that that drew her from slumber and set off the jittery feeling.

Chloe swallowed, secure Lucifer was still in the shower. She pressed the message from Amenediel. _"Please get him to call me Chloe. Beyond important now"._

She got up, not wanting to move but knowing she had to and threw on a dressing gown, hearing the clunk of the shower shut down. Padding her way into the bathroom she found him stark naked before the mirror rubbing a towel over his hair. He spotted her immediately. "Good morning Detective".

"Good morning" she smiled, pressing a kiss to the back of his shoulder but even that did not affect her nerves for the good. He could see she had her cell in her hand.

"More messages?" he asked, folding the towel and putting it beside the sink. Chloe nodded.

"I feel so bad not replying to him, Lucifer" she pleaded. Amenediel had been so good to her this past year, trying his best to help, looking after Trixie, and just generally being the brother he considered himself to be to the Detective. It frustrated him as much as it her that Lucifer had upped and left even though he had tried to tell her, tried to inform her of all that had gone on that had led to the situation that they all found themselves within now. He had hoped it helped that she new perhaps more than a mortal should.

Lucifer took the cell off her as she rested her cheek on his damp bicep. He took a long breath. "You speak to Tomasz about breakfast and I will speak to Amenediel". He saw a very slight smile on her face. He could tell she was anxious; it was the frown that had returned to her forehead and he was sure he could feel the blood pounding around her body. Lucifer hadn't intended it to be an order but at least she managed to smile about it.

"Can I have a shower first before I carry out your bidding, Master?" Chloe said quietly, the fingertips running up and down his back in distraction. For a second he watched her blue eyes through the mirror. Underneath the wild sleep heavy blonde locks, her skin was still pale and in the harsh bathroom light he could see the contours of her collar bones sticking up through her skin and her ribs on her chest. She wasn't like that before and it was all his fault.

"I'll think about it" he offered quietly, leaning down to plant a kiss on the top of her head before he stepped out of the way to let her get on.

Once she was safely secured in the shower, Lucifer – now thankfully dressed – stood on the deck again, her cell phone in his hand and thumb hovering over the screen. Without a further thought he put the phone to his ear listening to it ring. Precisely 4 rings later it was picked up and he heard his brother's voice.

"Chloe?" Amenediel started. He sounded startled. "I know you are meant to be having a peaceful weekend but I need to speak to him and I know he's with you".

"Well he certainly is" Lucifer replied, starting on a nervous circuit of the deck. "Either that or Detective Decker has undergone some form of sinister, and possibly malicious, body swop over night".

He heard his name. It sounded as though Amenediel was relieved and annoyed in one fell swoop. "When did you get back?"

"A day or so ago" Lucifer responded, wanting to get to the point; quickly checking that nobody was in the bedroom. "You said you had visitors".

Amenediel cleared his throat. Linda was standing a few feet away, an expectant look on her face mouthing, _"Is that him?" _ "Raphael and Gabriel" he offered. Lucifer could almost see his brother's pained expression if the tone of his voice was anything to go by.

"Bloody hell" Lucifer breathed, rolling his eyes skywards as he began pacing around the deck with even more fervour. He swiped a palm heavily across his face. "I knew Raphie had dragged himself down here but not Gabe". He called his brother Gabe because he knew he hated it.

Amenediel had been perturbed but not so surprised by the appearance of the other two brothers. It had to happen one day that Father might have sent someone to come looking for him for the dressing down for being so careless with Linda. What he had not factored in was they were on the trail of Michael and Eve, and brought with them the news that Lucifer had re-emerged. Charlie tottering around his legs had barely given the brothers a second glance although Amenediel would know the day had to arrive sometime that the child would be of interest. "They want us four to meet. We have things to discuss" the voice on the end of the line continued.

"I imagine we do" Lucifer responded. His voice was tight as he squinted into the sun that was dancing over the sparkling ocean. "Alright. Tomorrow lunchtime at Lux. I presume you can get a message to them or do I have to do it?"

"You'll have to" Amenediel replied, his voice heavy and resigned. "My powers are gone completely".

Lucifer tutted. "Very well. The pair of them are probably stalking me anyway so I could probably just shout rather than call them up". He knew he had to go back to Lux at some point to seek out Maze and yes he would apologise. Get it all out of the way quick, so tomorrow it was. Amenediel, Raphael, Gabriel and Maze in one hit. Jeez. Hopefully he could get rid of the infernal lot of them before Chloe arrived for Dr Fraser. Lucifer heard Linda say something in the background and suddenly she was on the line.

"How's Chloe?"

He looked quickly behind himself having seen her come out of the bathroom out of the corner of his eye wrapped up in a fluffy white towel. "She's perfect".

"Lucifer..." Linda responded, a harsh warning in her voice. "I don't want to sound like your therapist - its far too early in the morning for that - but tell me how she is. How she really is".

He took a few steps further away from the door in the hope she was not listening in. He thought for second to dress it up a little but no, he had to tell Linda the truth. "She's sleeping okay I think, eating okay but there were a couple of rather unexpected mood swings that were an experience to live through but I'm just doing what she wants".

"Good" Linda replied knowing she had Chloe booked in for a session on Tuesday but the woman's stability and indeed her ability to care for herself worried her, particularly around Lucifer now he was here and possibly gone again just as quickly. "Be gentle with her. All the time"

"I will, Doctor" he smiled in response, a little voice of naughtiness whispering in his ear. "Now if you will excuse me my dear there is a half naked Detective who has just got out of a steaming hot shower waiting for me to ravish her repeatedly..." He deliberately hung on to see what Linda's reaction was, even though if Chloe could have heard, he knew she would have cut off his privileges and more besides for oversharing.

"Lucifer!" Linda almost screeched at him, earning herself a raised eyebrow from Amenediel who had been listening in. Sometimes he despaired too. "What did I tell you?!"

"I am joking Doctor" Lucifer finished with a laugh before the pair bid their goodbyes.

"Well?" he heard from behind him. Chloe's voice was curious. Maybe she had heard more than she was letting on to him.

"A meeting with my darling brothers tomorrow lunchtime, after which I will collect your offspring from school and we will both meet you at Lux for Dr Fraser" Lucifer replied before spinning around on his heels. He let out a low whistle. Seems he had somehow already known what was waiting for him. "My my, detective. I knew I chose well with that..." He walked across taking her wrist and spinning her around. "I might have to make some kind of blasphemous exclamation if it would not start the day off with me in a deeply annoyed, yet frighteningly horny mood".

"Its a black bikini, Lucifer", Chloe replied.

"I know it is. I bought it". He leant down to slid his arms around her waist, pulling her tight to him. Lucifer chuckled, part of his brain wanting to throw caution to the wind and in the other part remembering Linda's words. "Detective I am going to think with my head for a change and not other parts of my anatomy. I need coffee". He kissed her slowly, lingering over her lips and let go of her, knowing that given five seconds or so he would regret walking away. Chloe sighed internally. Sometimes she didn't particularly favour the sensible part of him that he had developed but equally pleased that he did. It was that minute scrap that made her think that they could have a future together of some kind or another. She heard cups clink behind her and she turned to go back but then a thought struck. _He was probably like that all along_. _That was probably the real him all those millennia ago_. _Maybe now he felt free enough to be that person - angel - again. _"You can stand there all day and let me admire you Detective or your could come and get some of this deliciousness" he said, wondering whether she would bite but instead she sauntered over and took up a cup of precious caffeine.

"The only deliciousness I see, Morningstar, is this stuff". With that she and the coffee were gone back onto the deck, ready - sort of - to face the day.

They reached her chosen spot of Santa Rosa Island in the late morning and as Chloe climbed up the ladder to the pier all she could see where trees and the gentle rush of surf against the sand. The air almost smelt different out here, cleaner, fresher and with that warmth that only California could bring. It was idyllic.

As he followed her, Lucifer was carrying a cool bag with provisions. With no facilities on the island, they had to be prepared and as he set the blue carrier down on the wooden slats of the pier, the engine of the boat roared back into life. "Where's he going?" Chloe asked, head flying back in anxiety when she realised that the brothers were moving the boat away.

"They can't stay here. Permits to moor or something", Lucifer replied, dusting off his hands from the dirty ladder. He didn't seem too concerned and why she was worried about being left there he would never know. "They'll collect us when I call them". She made a noise that sounded like 'oh'. "Besides worst comes to the worst we do have Devil Airlines to rely on..."

"Devil air...?!" Chloe's eyes widened. It was almost as though it was the first time she had realised that his wings had practical uses. She felt a few more brain cells expire at all the things she had been faced with and learnt. "You could fly us off..."

"Of course I could" he laughed, slightly disturbed that she clearly hadn't thought of it before. "Although I did think one day long ago of purchasing a private jet. Maybe I should do that now and you and the urchin can use it to go where you like". He leant down to pick up the carrier again.

"Lucifer" she responded, a warning in her voice. "Don't even think of that. We don't need it". She could tell he was about to plead with him but the look on her face stopped him. "No, listen to me" Chloe began firmly as some things needed to be said. She knew the hire of this boat was a favour from the brothers but that won't stop him spending. "Trix and I don't need your money. We don't need to be bought. You have us already". Chloe paused to look up at him as he dropped his head, hand flexing on the plastic handle of the carrier. "Please Lucifer, we both love you. Every side of you".

She was about to set off walking when he took her wrist. "Does she know?"

"That you are Devil?" Chloe responded, as they began to walk this time. "Yes. When you left I explained it to her becuase she was upset too. She barely batted an eyelid and said that I needn't tell her because she knew. You told her and me several times and she believed you straight off. I was just too much of an adult and a cynic".

_"__Of course he's the Devil Mommy. He told us so didn't he?" Trixie had said, a look of deep concern on her face at her mother's tears. "He told us he was, so why should I be scared? I like him. He's never hurt me or you has he?"  
_

"Your urchin could teach us some lessons" Lucifer mused, feeling her fingers linked in with his as they walked up the pier, quickly reaching the end that disappeared into rough sand. Three tracks were ahead and they chose to go right.

Every inch of Chloe Decker was aching by the time she sat down on the pier waiting for the boat to come back. She could see it not so far away. She dare not think how many miles they had walked but she needed a sit down, another cold drink and a shower. She had sand in places where sand should not be, bits of leaves in her hair and she was sure she was sunburnt. Her face felt like furnace and, with feet dangling over the edge, the rush of blood caused them to throb. She was leaning on Lucifer, head on his shoulder as they sat and she was not convinced she could get up again or even tackle that ladder.

"Thank you Lucifer" she said all of a sudden.

"Its a pleasure", he replied, carefully watching for the boat, but not harboring her unspoken worry that they were going to be left there like castaways. "But what for?"

"Indulging me". _Being patient, being kind, being hot as... oh..._

She felt a kiss pressed to her forehead. "That's quite alright. I enjoy giving people what they desire. Especially you Detective".

After only a few words they fell into silence. It was almost as though nothing else needed to be said as the afternoon turned into evening and back on the boat Chloe had changed again, careful of Lucifer who was sitting on the bed in the cool watching her every move. "What?" she asked, knowing his eyes had been tracking her every move.

"Your shoulders are red" he observed. "In fact they look painful".

"I know", Chloe replied, wandering over to him so she was standing between his knees. "Your aim with suntan lotion is not the most accurate it seems".

Lucifer smiled from his place sitting below her, hands sliding up the legs of her shorts and over to massage the backs of her legs, so conscious of avoiding her hip. He has not been entirely sure but he was fairly convinced she had been limping a little on their walks today. Now seemingly the responsible one, the quicker she saw Dr Fraser the better. Chloe felt a kiss pressed to the blue material just below her navel."I have aftersun on. It'll be fine". He didn't look like he believed her and yes, her skin was a touch sensitive but it didn't matter. At least it made her feel alive.

"So", Lucifer began, arms now wrapped around the backs of her legs keeping her as feasibly close as he could. "What do we do on our last evening?"

"Do you want my answer or the answer I think you want?" she asked, her voice soft and supplicant, hair dangling down over her shoulders, enveloping her face so he was the only one who could see.

"If those answers are different, I would be quite concerned, Detective". He heard that wonderful, free laugh again as her palms ran from the back of his head, down his neck and to rest on his shoulders. "But I think we should open that bottle of champagne that we never did pop and sit out on the deck. For now".

Retire to the deck they did, sitting propped up and almost down to the bottom of the bottle, Chloe found the courage to broach a subject that had to be addressed now; before he might spend other night in her home. In the peace that had surrounded them and the relaxation of alcohol, she had a flashback to finding him in the bathroom this morning. Stark naked and that could cause a problem."Lucifer?" she purred.

"Yes, beautiful?"

She breathed in. "I know we talked about you staying with me and I know you want some time at Lux". Her domesticity would be too much for him, she knew that already so there was no point in fighting it. He was getting twitchy just being on this boat so homework, TV and bed routines might just tip him over the edge. "But can I ask something of you?"

"I am willing to consider your position Detective", he offered, not realising that his voice was slightly slurred. Did he actually sound drunk? They were drinking alcohol and she was around him, so anything was possible.

"No nakidity around Trixie and that includes wandering hands" Chloe stated, listening to a pause as he considered her request.

"Hmmmm" Lucifer pondered. "So no wandering around as nakey as the day I wasn't born and just created from nothing? Am I allowed to kiss you?" he asked, slightly offended that even that might be off the table around the over eager and permanently sticky creature she had given birth to.

"Yes" Chloe replied. "Just keep your hands to yourself"

He made a harrumphing sound and put his glass down. "Very well if it means your offspring has her innocence preserved for a few years longer, then I consent". Lucifer paused. "So I will take it that when your urchin is not within listening or seeing distance, I am free to do whatever I wish?"

Chloe turned on her side, placing her head on his shoulder. "Thank you Lucifer" she smiled, tracing a pattern over his chest with her fingertips. "I do appreciate it". She had not answered the question but he took it as a yes.

"Good" Lucifer responded. "Now, I think we need a memento of this occasion". He got up and returned a few seconds later with her cell phone in his hand. It was already jam packed with photographs from these last couple of days, but all of horizons, waves, sunsets and greenery and not a selfie, a devil or a human in sight.

"A photograph?" she asked, sitting up. "Lucifer, no..." She had an aversion to cameras for longer than she cared to remember now and above all else, Chloe knew about those dark circles under her eyes. A moment of vanity hit her, even if after the exertion of today she did have some colour in her cheeks but she gave in for the sake of peace.

The single picture that made to through Chloe's rigorous deleting process was one of them lying on the deck, heads together, his arm wrapped around her neck. Her palm was splayed out on his chest. They looked sun kissed and happy to her surprise. Her hair was wavy and gold highlights sprung from the picture; a deep contrast to the dark curls of his.

Even that night, even after he had paid rigorous attention to every part of her body, Chloe did not sleep.

The foreboding deep inside her was too overwhelming to let her relax and, the next morning as the boat docked for the final time, she felt sick.


	23. Chapter 23

Lucifer paced up and down the sitting room in the penthouse. He had still not examined it in detail and did not want to either. He was still not ready to step into a suit or be down in Lux with it spilling over at the seams with people only there for a good time and preferably with him. Even the thought of the music, the noise, the bodies churned his stomach. Strangers throwing themselves at him, breathing on his skin, alcohol clouding their thoughts and actions for cheap thrills. For the first time in his long life, he did not crave a single jot of it.

Maze was sitting in a chair, anger seeping from every aspect of her being, arms folded and squinting at him as he walked around the penthouse. Even his mere presence riled her, giving off an aura was that of nothing but frustration, anger and, underneath it all, deep, deep upset at this sudden reappearance. She was positively furious, but if she opened her mouth right this second she would not be responsible for what happened next. Blood would be drawn this time as Decker was nowhere in sight, she was sure of that.

Chloe herself had driven Lucifer to Lux just half an hour ago on her way to work and she had watched him walk up the alley at the side of the building and, confident once the door was closed, she had driven off with her heart racing. Her lips tingled from the sweep of his tongue in goodbye, wishing she could have gone with him but she knew he had to do this thing – whatever it was - with his brothers alone. Perhaps that was why she had let him kiss her like that with strangers walking by on their way to wherever. Maybe she had left an imprint on him just as he had her.

"So where were you all weekend?" Maze asked finally, not really interested but it was better than this brewing silence. She had to say or do something for fear of just screaming or tearing out her own hair in frustration. "Off chasing a Brittany or three while I kept your business running? Yet again?"

Lucifer breathed in and finally sat down, hearing the squeak of leather underneath him. Her voice was tense, terse and littered with a hatred he had not heard in years. "I was with the Detective".

Maze watched him for a moment as he raised his eyes to her; looking at her properly for the first time that morning. "Please don't tell me you and her have been knocking boots all weekend?" she asked, exasperated.

"As it happens yes", Lucifer responded, slumping back with his legs stretched out. He was still wearing jeans and a t shirt. The weekend felt like a million years ago even though it was only yesterday.

"For fuck's sake...!" Maze responded, slapping her palms down on the arms of the seat and hauling herself up. Her voice was annoyed and exhausted now; her face crowded with a frown. "Do you realise how irresponsible that is?"

Lucifer made an annoyed noise. "You" he started, rounding on her as he sat up quickly. "You lecture me about responsibility?!"

"Yes" Maze spat striding across to him sinking her nails into his knees. She faced him down; her voice low and menacing in a way that one day long ago sent messages to certain aspects of his anatomy but today filled him with a strange sense of foreboding. "You haven't been here the last year. You haven't seen the..._devastation_ ...you left behind and you are taking advantage of her. But then again, do you that, don't you? Only think of yourself?" His gaze fell to the floor, scuffing the corner of a rug with the white sneaker he was wearing, but it did not stop the demon as the grip on his knees became more aggressive. "She fell to _bits_ Lucifer. Every time I saw her she looked different, weaker and I know you don't think me capable of being bothered about a pathetic little human, but I am bothered when it comes to Decker". Despite the fact she would never quite admit it to her, Maze was fond of the human and her child.

"She is your friend" Lucifer stated.

"She is" Maze replied, getting up and walking away, the Devil rubbing his knees where he could still feel the crescents of her nails in his skin. "You didn't see it all. After all the miles and years we have travelled Lucifer, you abandoned a lot of people, me included".

"Oh don't be dramatic Maze" he scoffed, seeing her turn around.

"Dramatic? If you want dramatic I can give you dramatic you colossal dick but you just don't get it do you?". She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. "You didn't even bother to explain! That's what hurts me more than anything you ass!" she screamed. "You left us behind, didn't explain anything and expect us to just accept that when you roll back up like you own the place!"

"I do own the place!" he roared, standing up to fight his corner. Lucifer had tried to keep a lid on it, but she was pressing every single button he had. Just like old times.

Maze was furious, her face contorted in rage. Lucifer's hand flexed resisting reaching out her throat, squeeze it tightly... No. He wouldn't do it. _No._ "I had to take responsibility for what I had created" Lucifer said quietly, determined not to fight and this softer tone of voice was one that Maze was not expecting. "I had to protect you all and I am not here to for you take Eve's disappearance out on. That was nothing to do with me".

He saw Maze set her chin. "You don't get it"

"No" he laughed. "I just don't think I do".

Maze was about to speak again when the elevator dinged and Amenediel walked out. The pair shot apart like illicit lovers.

"Brother..." To Lucifer's surprise, the other angel came over to him and hugged him into his arms. Lucifer had no concept of how to react; it was like when the urchin ran to him. "Am I pleased to see you Luci..." Amenediel said at last holding his brother by the shoulders even though Lucifer could feel himself pulling away.

"All those times you had to retrieve me when I went topside and this time you are actually happy to see me", the Devil replied. Lucifer really did not know how to respond. It seemed his brother had gone soft.

"I am brother, believe me I am. Did you speak to the other two?" Amenediel asked.

Lucifer nodded as his brother sat. "Whether radio communications established contact I am not sure..."

The three were silent as Lucifer paced again. "So what do they want?" he asked his brother. Fight or flight, he was not sure. "Dear Old Dad sending Gabe could only mean he wants the heavy mob in to drag me back to Hell again". That was his worst fear if the Devil could fear.

Amenediel breathed. "I don't think it's you they are interested in" he replied, cautious of his conversations with his brothers at the weekend. "This time, for a change at least, you are not a priority although yes...it is an issue".

"I don't know whether to be flattered or offended" Lucifer replied tartly. "So on the table first its darling Michael on his own little sojourn to the City of Angels then."

Lucifer saw Maze bristle at the mention of her Master's twin before there was a rush of air from the balcony. "It seems you have company" Maze uttered instead, throwing a casual nod of the head towards the two figures. She could see the other angels from where she was seated. Lucifer and Amenediel stood up as the other men walked through the wide open doors; the demon however remained seated. She would not stand for that pair.

"Gabe!" Lucifer began, arms out wide in a mocking gesture of a brotherly hug. "Still harassing innocent virgins for a living?"

He heard Maze snort with laughter only to be on the receiving end of a glare from Gabriel as he stepped past her outstretched leg. "Hey, blondie". Her voice was seductive and playful. "No offence handsome, it was funny" she offered with a shrug of her shoulders.

The brothers all sat down. "So" Lucifer began. "Let's get down to business so you can leave as soon as you physically can or before I can kick you out of my home. Hit me with it if you have to".

Raphael cleared his throat, eyes wandering to Maze. "Does the demon have to be here?"

"You said that about the Miracle Child" Lucifer responded. "And yes she does. Mazikeen is always by my side".

Maze nearly, very nearly answered back but decided not to respond. Her beef with him had nothing to do with his brothers who hadn't seen him in millennia. She had learned a little about that strange thing called 'family' and why he was even sitting in the same room as them she would never know. Besides that, she thought, who in Satan's name was the 'Miracle Child'?! That was more pressing.

"Father wants us to join forces" Raphael continued. Lucifer could tell his empathetic brother was nervous at the prospect.

Lucifer laughed loudly. "Me? Actually pair up with you three? Has Dear Old Dad's dementia kicked in at last?"

"No" Gabriel responded firmly, wishing his brother did not disrespect their father so. "He wishes Michael return to the Silver City and that the other human be restored to her husband".

"Eve?" Maze asked. Lucifer heard a slightly tremor in her voice.

Gabriel and Raphael ignored her. She saw Amenediel nod to her that it was.

"Father wishes that between the four of us, we try to talk sense into Michael and Eve will simply be removed from Hell and returned to her home to be cleansed of its horrors once she is incapable of asking for help from him".

"So what then?" Lucifer asked, gradually becoming more irritated until a light bulb flicked on in his head. "Ah, I take it then that I am the cheese to catch the mouse?"

"Bluntly put brother but yes" Raphie responded. "We can speak to Michael but he will pay little attention to us. You and he have a score to settle and he will be lured out by you"

"What if he refuses?" Maze asked, her voice tight.

"Quiet Demon!" Gabriel shouted, Maze seeing Lucifer raise his hand at her to quieten her.

Lucifer thought for a second. This was not his problem. If Michael and Eve wanted Hell or Dad-forbid wanted each other, then they were welcome to it all! "I will give it due consideration". Maze knew that meant 'no'. "Now would you mind leaving? I have to review the accounts for Lux and I also have a child to collect from school"

He saw Amenediel trying not to laugh at Gabriel and Raphael's faces. Maze too was biting her tongue.

"Have you?" Gabriel started, flashing a glance around the room but particularly at Amenediel. "Have you been so careless as to copulate and breed with a human too?"

Lucifer shook his head in exasperation. Who used those terms anymore? "No", he replied, speaking to his brother like a child_. Actually I've been shagging the human all weekend and very pleasurable it was too. No breeding yet though. _ "The urchin happens to be the...the Miracle Child's spawn not mine. I am simply collecting her for expediency as her mother is working and I have guests tonight". He had been carefully watching Maze out of the corner of his eye. Maybe it had been better if she was not there. She had clearly now realised just who the Miracle Child might be as well.

"Lucifer" Amenediel began, leaning forward to engage his brother. "I know you...well you have no reason to trust us"

"Too right" Lucifer huffed in return, sitting back to increase the difference between them. "Particularly you two cretins" he concluding addressing Gabriel and Raphael.

"But do you not agree that regardless of our differences we need to get Michael to see sense and the live human away from Hell before it disposes with her?" Gabriel asked.

Lucifer sighed. "Yes, yes I do". Gabriel was right at least in principle but Lucifer was reluctant to be the bait. He simply told them he would think it over and ejected them from the penthouse.

Surprisingly unscathed from the visit of his brothers – as he had expected much worse – Lucifer had been satisfied to find the books in order and now the urchin was nursing a strawberry milkshake and sitting in front of the television waiting for her mother

Lucifer had been clockwatching ever since he arrived back at Lux, throwing a text message over to Chloe just to make sure she was going to be there on time. He flipped on the coffee machine and, sitting perched on the piano stool, he waited and waited. Each minute seemed to move interminably slowly. Almost on the dot of half past five though the lift door whooshed open and Chloe appeared. "I am sorry, Luce" she said almost running across the floor to Trixie, giving her daughter a kiss on the head as Chloe lent over the back of the settee. She did not notice that he cringed at the use of Eve's nickname for him. "We got stuck in a meeting... Trix? Trixie!"

Her daughter's head whipped around. "Sorry Mom". She had been far to engrossed in the television.

"That's better" Chloe replied in a sharp tone, dropping her jacket on the back of the settee, a bag on the floor, and going across to Lucifer who was still seated at the piano. She sat down next to him with a thump, ignoring the stabbing sensation in her hip as she landed. A kiss followed, speedily added to with another. "I missed you" she whispered, careful not to let Trixie hear her intimate greeting.

"And I you Detective" Lucifer replied genuinely, taking up her hand and pressing another kiss to her knuckles. "Simon will be here shortly. I will get Maze to care for the spawn whilst he is here".

"It's okay" Chloe responded, "I saw her downstairs. She's coming up soon". Chloe glanced behind her at her daughter who was mesmerized by the huge television screen again. If they were spending more and more time at Lux, Chloe quickly resolved to limit television time just the same that it was at home. "Do you mind if I have a shower?" He could see she had a change of clothes with her not wanting to be pawed over by a doctor after a long day at work.

"Be my guest" Lucifer replied, seeing Maze arrive out of the corner of his eye. Chloe walked past her daughter pressing a kiss to her head again that was ignored in favour of the television.

"Hey small human!" Maze began, rounding the side of the settee. "Join me in the bar for a drink on the house?" The presence of the demon snapped Trixie's eyes away from the screen as Lucifer watched them all.

"As long as you mix me a Nojito" Trixie declared seeing her mother spin on her heels on the steps up towards Lucifer's bedroom, alarmed at her daughter's request.

It was almost as though Maze read her mind and turned to her. "Now, now Decker. Relax. _Chill_. It's called a _No_jito for a reason".

The child and Maze disappeared and by the time Chloe had showered and redressed, she could hear Lucifer talking to someone who she assumed was the doctor. "Ah!" Lucifer smiled, seeing her appear out of his bedroom. "There she is! Simon, can I introduce Chloe Decker? Chloe this is Dr Fraser".

"Pleasure to meet you" the doctor burred. Could she hear a slight Scottish accent?

"You too" Chloe smiled, shaking his hand.

"Now I gather you have a rather painful hip I need to have a look at?" He saw her nod. He did not know what relationship the club owner had with the woman, but Chloe consented that Lucifer stay and a minute or two later she found herself lying sideways on the couch. "Now let me see" the doctor began, pressing carefully on her bare hip, but no matter how cautious he was, Lucifer saw the pain on her face. As Dr Fraser continued he had a few questions. "Tell me, Miss Decker, how did you do the injury?"

"I erm...I fell over onto a wooden floor" she confessed, feeling embarrassed. "I had stupidly high shoes on and landed straight on it".

"Any alcohol involved?" The doctor saw Chloe hesitate."I am not sitting in judgment Miss Decker" he reassured her. "Only sometimes being in drink can immediately mask just how bad an injury actually is".

"Oh" she replied. "Yes, I was very much over the limit".

The doctor nodded carefully. "Now, I will take some blood just for some tests and if may take advantage of your electricity supply Mr Morningstar I would like to". He waved an ultrasound Doppler in the air. Lucifer simply nodded, still throwing a concerned glance at Chloe. Even to his untrained eye the colour of her hip was something quite horrific; changed from even the last time he saw it.

A few minutes later, and with the doctor wiping gel off Chloe's skin and with her pressing cotton wool to the inside of her elbow, he only had one conclusion. "I do fear you have an infection brewing Miss Decker and if you do, it does require evacuation under anaesthetic. Even without infection I would be very reluctant to let nature take its course and allow your body to heal itself without interference". He didn't say it, but she looked underweight, exhausted. Two other factors against.

"An operation?" Chloe sighed, flashing a glance at Lucifer as she sat up and the doctor stood. "I don't have enough hours it the day as it is to take time off work".

"Miss Decker", Dr Fraser said, his voice level and calm as he pulled off blue surgical gloves. "It is my advice to you. I can arrange admission to St Augustine's as soon as you give the word but I am not simply recommending it, I am telling you need it".

"Simon" Lucifer said pressing a palm to the man's shoulder, before Chloe could say anything more. "I appreciate your visit. We will discuss it".

Chloe tried not to listen to the conversation that Lucifer and the doctor were having as they walked towards the lift, seeing a business card passed between the two men. She heard the lift ding as she went to pick up her coat that was over the back of the settee.

"Are you going?" he asked. He sounded hurt.

"I have to take Trixie home", she said, pulling her jacket on. In truth she was avoiding the inevitable conversation.

"Detective? Chloe?" Lucifer started, deliberately blocking her path. "Are you going to speak to the Lieutenant?"

"What for?" she asked.

"Sick leave" Lucifer offered plainly, handing her the card with the Doctors details on. She took it automatically.

"I can't have that operation Lucifer. It will go away in its own time" she offered, seeing him raise an eyebrow. "Come on, St Augustine's? It's the most expensive hospital in LA. I don't have insurance that will cover it and my trust fund from you know what doesn't exactly have a lot left in it either".

"Simon owes me, Chloe" Lucifer replied, resisting just slowing her down and holding his hands on her arms. "You do not need to worry about how much it might cost. I have taken care of that and will not have you in any old hospital or under anyone's care but Simon's". He was quite insistent about that, thank you.

"Lucifer I told you before I don't need your money!" Her voice was not loud but it was firm.

"It's not money" Lucifer replied, still resting his palms on her arms. "He will do it because he owes me".

"What did he do? What was his favour, Lucifer?" she asked as they stood like statues in the of the room. Chloe threw him a suspicious look.

"I saved his career" Lucifer offered.

"Oh" Chloe responded slightly admonished. "How?"

"He stole medication. Convicted for it. Unfairly I might add" he replied, still peeved at that bloody Judge for that travesty. "He was about to struck off back home in Scotland. I found him a post here so he could continue to practice".

"You trust a known thief?" She could feel anger bubbling up inside her out of nowhere now as it rumpled deep inside her. He was about to trust her body, her life, to someone with a criminal record?

"His wife was dying from cancer. It was painkillers", he clarified as Chloe's head dropped. She felt ashamed. "I erm..I also spoke to my sister and persuaded her she should not take Anne's soul this time around. Simon, of course, does not know that and I don't want him to know..."

"Your sister is the Angel of Death", Chloe responded, a sudden realisation washing over her. Of course.

"Azreal. Yes she is" he replied as she wiggled out of his arms.

"I still can't have that operation" she insisted, stepping past him and towards the lift until his words stopped her in her tracks.

"So you would rather risk a visit from my sister, then? Because what I understand from Simon, is that you don't have a choice in the matter!" His tone of voice, hurt, lost, frustrated caused her heart to drop but something inside this mood, rejected it outright.

"Don't tell me what to do Lucifer" she spat, thumping the call bell for the lift. "I've had enough of people telling me what's best for me!" With that she was gone.

It was not until she got home, dinner made and Trixie ready for bed that Chloe realised that the third bag of Lucifer's presents was still sitting unopened. Leaving Trixie to brush her teeth, Chloe decided she would open it. Yes, alright they had had an argument but reflecting sitting in traffic on the way home and once her mood had cooled, she knew he was trying his best. It still did not change that the operation was impractical at best but she should never have flown off the handle. It hadn't stopped the tears in her eyes though that she had tried to force away as she drove home.

Carefully Chloe pulled the white ribbon tie on the bag, letting it slide away as she fished inside the tissue paper that was covering whatever it was he had bought.

Immediately she saw black lace and flashed an embarrassed glance at the door to make sure her daughter was not there before she pulled the garment out of the bag. Her eyes found incredibly expensive lingerie that, to her surprise, was actually kind of classy and with enough substance to make it sexy but not crude. He was trying and guilt stabbed at her heart.

"That's pretty Mom". Chloe jumped out of her skin seeing Trixie at the door, shoving the bodysuit into the bag. "Was that a present off of Lucifer?"

Chloe cleared her throat, very clear her daughter had seen it all. They had had 'that' conversation already although she was not sure how the birds and the bees extended to black lace lingerie. "Yes baby, it was. Is", Chloe replied carefully as Trixie appeared by her side, toying with the white ribbon on the bag. Even she could tell that Mommy wasn't happy. She hadn't been happy for a long time

"Is he not staying here tonight?" Trixie asked. She liked it when he was here. She felt safe.

"No Monkey he has to be at Lux, but he might be here tomorrow", Chloe replied, pushing the bag to one side and sitting down on the bed with her daughter,, hoping she had swallowed the untruth. Theirargument was still sitting on her chest. On her way home she had texted him a 'sorry' and an 'I love you' but heard nothing back.

"I don't like it when you argue with him. He's only been back a few days". Her daughter's wide brown eyes stared up at her.

"Trix" Chloe replied, putting her arm around her daughter. "I love Lucifer very much and one little argument doesn't change that". _I hope it doesn't with him. I don't know if it does, does it? _

"It changed it with Dad" Trixie responded, scared that it would happen again.

"Baby, Mommy is just a little bit...well I won't enjoy being in Hospital again or being off work and I said some things I shouldn't have done to him". She had told Trixie of Dr Fraser's visit in the car. "I was wrong and I have apologised to him".

"Mommy when you have your operation will I have to stay with Nanna?" Trixie asked, seemingly off the topic of the devil and onto other pressing matters.

"No monkey and besides I haven't decided whether to have it or not" Chloe responded, hugging her daughter tighter to her body.

"But the Doctor and Lucifer said you must, you said so, so you must". The little girl had decided to be brave and was quite adament about it in her own way. She hated hospitals just as much as Mommy. Chloe turned and looked at her daughter as she felt the child snuggle closer to her. "I'll look after you instead. I can be your nurse". Chloe laughed affectionately at her child's determined face. "We don't need anyone else but us, do we Mommy? No-one else".

Chloe smiled again as she put her arms around Trixie. She was not too sure about that. Not too sure at all.


	24. Chapter 24

Tuesday

Tuesday and the sun was shining. There was not a cloud in the sky. A day off yesterday and she was filled with energy that was bubbling up from deep inside her.

Ella positively bounced down the stairs into the station, heart light and with a spring in her step that belied whatever the homicidal may have in store for her today. The precinct was buzzing with phones, conversation and computers, air conditioning whirring overhead and it was all so familiar. She was so glad she came to the City of Angels. Friends, a good place to work and Dan. Despite him being her friend's ex-husband it had all turned out rather nicely if she were to be so bold and today had the makings of a good one.

As she did practically every morning these days, Ella's eyes automatically went to Chloe's desk. Checking if she was there, if she had her coffee or even just that she was alright. Ella's happy heart dropped when she saw her friend, punching away at her keyboard only to stop to swipe a tear away from her cheek and go back to a severe look of concentration. Ella stopped on the bottom step, adjusting the provisions she was carrying for breakfast in her arms and strode across to the Detective's desk.

"Hey lady" Ella whispered, smiling, hoping some of her brightness would lift the air.

Chloe looked up, eyes red rimmed, and Ella was met with another tear quickly swiped away and a mask of pretence suddenly descended. "Morning" Chloe replied, her voice almost going out from underneath her. "Have a good day off?"

Ella nodded. If you call spending it asleep and when she wasn't asleep watching trash reality television until her brain went numb a 'good day off', then Miss Lopez certainly did. A few seconds of silence ensued, neither woman quite sure what to say. "I erm..." Ella started carefully, quickly looking around herself. "I had an idea about that Garrett murder, that cold case you were looking at last week..."

"Oh yeah?" Chloe asked, finally leaving the abuse of her keyboard alone. "It's about time one of us did!" she laughed, but it was strained. "I was almost banging my head on my desk trying to see any new leads in it all".

"Yeah" Ella replied, fidgeting from foot to foot with nerves. Even to her own ears she sounded awkward. "Come into the lab".

So willingly Chloe followed her, the motion sensor lights flickering on as she sat down at the table. Ella closed the door and quite deliberately dropped the bag of freshly baked croissants on the table and within Chloe's reach. "So what is it?" Chloe asked, genuinely interested in another opinion on this decade old case of a young medical student, poisoned and left for dead in her dorm by some person unknown.

"Actually", Ella responded, spinning around and biting her lip. She had to say it now - it was too late otherwise without looking foolish. "Chlo, I have a confession to make..."

Chloe was not sure what to say. "So you killed Alyssa Garrett?" she asked, a sliver of her sense of humour still there, but Ella did not laugh. Instead she swallowed carefully and it sent Chloe's anxiety sky high with the deathly serious look on the face of the forensic scientist. What on earth could it be that she was about to 'confess' to? "Ella" Chloe started, reaching across the table to take up the other woman's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze of encouragement. "If its Dan you can tell me" she continued. "I was with him for 12 years. I know all his nasty habits". Ella did not react but her words were ones Chloe was not expecting.

"I saw Lucifer the other day". In 'confessing' a weight lifted.

"What?" Chloe replied, the word barely making it out of her mouth and feeling what little colour she still had in her face drain away. She had seen him. If Ella knew, then who else had seen him? Shit, had Dan seen him after all when they were both in Gino's and not said anything to her? Chloe breathed in and out trying to control the panic that was threatening to submerge her again.

"The other day" Ella began fiddling with her amber bracelet, "when I went to lunch, I saw him or at least I thought I saw him but the more I think about it the more I realised I did see him after all, see?" The sentence came out of her mouth in shower of words, Ella not pausing for breath. "The more I think about it, I know I saw him and I should have told you Chlo but I didn't want you to be upset, but you are upset so I thought .. I thought that it might hurt you even more if I said anything or if you went looking for him and couldn't find him..."

"I've seen him too", Chloe whispered but it did not register on the other woman's radar.

"I thought if I didn't tell you then you wouldn't worry, but...you saw him too?" Ella's eyes were wide.

Chloe raised her head, seeing Ella's look of shock. "I.." Chloe began, flexing her shoulders to push away the tension. "I spent the weekend with him".

"What?" It was Ella's turn to be barely able to speak as she took a pace or two closer towards where Chloe was sitting.

"The night we went out...to Lux for my birthday" Chloe began. It was only last week but so much had happened since that it may as well have been a lifetime. "When I got home he was there. In my house". She skipped over the injuries and the shroud and Eve and Michael. "We spent the weekend on a yacht sailing up the coast. I have sunburn that hurts like a bitch and I slept with him. Repeatedly". Ella's brain was still processing the yacht and she barely heard the reference to their other activities but seconds later it registered.

"Oh. My. God" she stuttered. "You finally gave it up to him..."

"Ella..." Chloe replied, slightly annoyed at the rather off-putting description from her friend.

"Was it good?" Ella asked, the shipper heart in her overtaking any form of subtly that she could muster up. "I mean like..." she continued, seeing the colour rise on Chloe's cheeks. "I know he's gone through half of LA and all we hear is how much of a God under the sheets he is..." Chloe flinched at the use of the word 'God'. "Tell me..."

Chloe coughed trying to keep herself together. _She is so happy for me_. _Beautiful friend; she is so happy. _"He is..." she began, trying to find the words. "Yeah..." Chloe breathed. "He's erm...yeah. I can say he certainly lives up to the hype". She could feel her temperature go up even further in embarrassment and the odd flashback that chose that moment to assault her senses. "Ella...Jeez... I mean I have never felt anything like it in my life". Chloe refrained from the rather cruder description that had run through her mind. "I mean, _seriously_".

Ella's eyes almost popped out of her head. "Girl..." she began the word long and strung out. "Is this not just _the_ most amazing, perfect thing that he came straight back to you?"

Chloe's eyes dropped at the almost romantic scenario that Ella was painting, even though it was in a sick, twisted kind of way. He ran to her. From Eve. From Michael. He ran to her. Just her. "It is...was, except we had an argument, well I flew off the handle at him and I am so scared..." It was the sobbing that broke Ella from her haze and she shot across, enveloping Chloe in her arms.

"Sssshhhh" Ella whispered, pressing a kiss to her head, whispering something in Spanish that Chloe didn't understand. "I'm sorry...You should have said, you should have said something to me...Oh, Chloe. Are you sure you did the right thing in spending the weekend with him then?"

Chloe nodded. "I need memories" she replied, pulling away and feeling foolish that she had just broken down. Again. She did not, however, regret a single second of it all. She pulled out her cell phone and showed Ella the photograph they had taken on the boat. "See" Chloe started. "Memories".

Ella looked at the photograph carefully. The woman before he looked like a different human being. Hair pulled back severely into a bun against the golden sunkissed waves; a bright smile against the tears.

"Has he said he is back for good?" Ella asked. Chloe just simply shrugged her shoulders taking a proffered tissue. "Oh...I don't know what to say" Ella was panicking slightly now. "What was the fight about?" She might be able to help with that if it had been blown out of all proportion. She had witnessed Chloe take down her ex-husband over nothing only a few weeks ago and he had slunk off to the lab for a bit of peace and quiet. When Lucifer had been here before, they had had falling outs almost on a weekly basis but this one seemed different. Maybe it was because underneath it all, the Detective was so very fragile.

"That night when we went to Lux, when I got home I fell over. I smashed my hip into the floor" Chloe sighed, her voice heavy with regret as she stared at the picture too. "Ella, he organised a doctor to see me, said he'll pay for the operation and I just threw it back in his face..."

"Operation? Did you break something?" Ella asked, suddenly even more confused. She couldn't have done that. She wouldn't be walking around like she was.

"No" Chloe replied, getting up and off the stool, pulling her shirt from her waistband and rolling the edge of her trousers just a few inches to expose only a small proportion of the haematoma, a harsh blackness against her skin that had been lightly coloured from the weekend.

"Holy..." Ella exclaimed gently resting her fingertips on the other woman's hip as her eyes scanned over the marred skin. "That must hurt like Hell". Chloe flinched at the use of that word. God. Hell. She had never realised before just how easy the words fell from people's mouths before now.

Chloe sighed. "It does hurt. A lot".

"So, forget Lucifer for a minute then" Ella began, standing up straight. "Why are you not doing what the doctor says, regardless of how you came to see him?"

"I don't know" Chloe replied, tucking her shirt back in again and sitting down. "I suppose I don't..." She swallowed. "I don't deserve it". _I'm punishing myself because this is all my fault. I only worthy of this pain. How very Morningstar it is of me it seems._

"You don't deserve it?" Ella frowned, going back to hug her. "Oh, angel...I know this past year has been hard, but Lucifer must have had his reasons to go and reasons to come back too". Chloe stayed silent. Ella was one person who still did not know who Lucifer really was. "It's not your fault. None of it is your fault. Wherever he went, do you really think he would leave this life he has, leave you, for something trivial? I sense he had little choice in the matter." She did not know why he had gone, truly, but what she did know of all things, underneath the bulldust he did respect the Detective.

_Things could have been so different though, Chloe thought. I might have had him for longer (and not that in way!)  
_

"You must listen to the doctor though" Ella insisted, Chloe feeling her squeeze her shoulder. "Even this ol' forensic scientist can see that thing needs looking at properly. Lucifer wants to look after you, even if he does it in the least subtle way possible, you know? Make you safe, you know?"

_Making me safe. That's what he did it for. To protect me and he's doing it again in the only way he knows how. Just the same as he was doing a year ago.  
_

Chloe was about to speak when the door to the lab swung open with a rush of air and a clang of the metal blinds as they swung. "Hey Ella, have you seen Chloe anyw..." Dan's question tailed off when he saw Ella step aside, careful to let Chloe collect herself before she did.

"Yeah", Ella replied gesturing behind herself and seeing the concern on the man's face. "She's just here".

"Erm..." Dan stuttered, not quite sure what he walked in on. "I er...Another's body's dropped in a warehouse about half a mile away. Rogers want you and me out there". He waved a blue file in the air apprehensively at them both.

"Oh, okay" Chloe replied before she saw Dan eye the brown bag on the table.

"Are they croissants?" he asked. Yes alright he had only had breakfast an hour ago but the smell was divine.

"They are" Ella smiled, flipping on the computer at the other end of the room. "Take one, there's plenty for us all".

Dan reached across but out of instinct he offered one to Chloe first. To his surprise she dipped her hand into the bag and pulled out one of the still warm delights. "Should I drive us?" he asked through a mouthful of croissant. The site where the body had been found was actually within walking distance of the precinct but time was money after all, so the car it was. Rogers would probably make them drive if it was across the street.

"Yeah please", Chloe replied, breaking off a corner of the pastry she had taken before she slipped off the stood adjusting her shirt as she did. "Thanks Ella" she said, turning back as they left.

"Anytime" the other woman responded with a half smile. Ella sighed. This was no good at all. She had to do_ something_ and getting her hands on a certain Mr Morningstar as soon as she physically could seemed the best place to start...

The journey to the crime scene had been spent with Chloe picking away at the croissant, flakes of pastry more on her lap that in her mouth and in total silence apart from the very brief rundown from Dan about the body. He had not quite known what to do about the flash club owners 'disappearance'. Dan had tried to engage his ex-wife in conversation, tried to help in her grief. He knew what that was like. He had been there before no too long ago with Charlotte and had slowly emerged to Ella's arms when the time was right. Trouble was, whatever he had said to Chloe, it had either ended in her tears or her screaming at him to leave. Lately, he had simply just taken Trixie when she needed space and tried his best just to be around for her and that included, sometimes, just sitting in silence for company.

There did, however, seem to be something odd about her today. He was not sure what it was, but he knew her, and knew something was different in her demeanour. On the way to a crime scene however was not the time nor the place so Dan kept his counsel for now.

They met the body by the sheer stench of it as they wandered close, the warehouse already littered with uniformed officers and forensics. "It's been here a while then" Dan offered, coughing before his second breakfast decided to make its presence felt. Chloe breathed heavily, her eyes almost watering and with a hand over her mouth as they saw the body under a tarpaulin and another officer walk up to them.

"Decker, Espinoza" he offered with a nod.

"Greg" Dan replied for them both as Chloe took in the scene. "So what we do have?"

"Male, probably in late teens, early twenties at a push" the officer began before he hesitated. "Actually let's move away. He is a little hard on the stomach". They walked back towards the open warehouse doors and the fresh air. "Been dead more than a few weeks, looks like the skull is fractured and there a snapped wrist, might be old injuries but beyond that...well that's the labs work for this one."

"Is there any way he fell?" Chloe asked. She had seen a rusted old walkway above their heads running around the whole perimeter of the warehouse. It looked less than safe and if this kid was a teenager messing around, trying to be the big man in front of his friends ...

"Anything's game Decker" he replied with a shrug. "No hits on missing persons that vaguely fit the description or what's left of the clothes though. You can take a closer look yourselves, only best put these on". He produced two surgical masks from his pocket that the two Detectives took as they approached further.

Quickly, however, they both needed air and talking further, Chloe and Dan stood outside the warehouse doors, her with her back to the street. "So what do you think?" Dan offered.

"It's impossible" Chloe responded. "No obvious cause of death and the body's in such a state..." It was decomposed but not yet skeletal, but rotten and barely recognisable as human. "I think we just wait for forensics", she concluded, seeing Dan's eyes wandering to her side. He was frowning at something across the street. "What?" she asked, interrupted from her thread.

"Isn't that that guy who was in the station the other week?" he said, gesturing across the road, Chloe turning to see what he was looking at.

"What guy?" she asked, still looking across the busy road, trying to find who he was now pointing at.

"That guy who came in the other week about the cemetery explosion" Dan observed. "The one you said didn't actually help us with his 'scoop'..."

Chloe saw who he was looking at; only for a split second before he walked away clearly knowing he had been seen. There was a blonde man with him and silently she was comforted that Raphael had sought her out; was watching over her so it seemed. She, however, felt a palpitation in her chest; an out of time thudding that made her feel queasy and it caught her by surprise. Chloe coughed and it went away just as soon as it arrived.

"Dan we get ghouls at crime scenes all the time. You know we do..." Chloe replied, scolding him slightly, hoping that he had not see that split second of recognition on her face as she turned around back to him. The last thing she needed was Dan to find out that there were angels bobbing up and down throughout the city and _moreso_ that the mother of his child had slept with the Devil himself. For Trixie's sake she still had the suspicion that Dan's mother would try to get him to have her back in Court over custody before she could blink. That would make the old witch freak. It was best for now he didn't know until she could be sure of what the future might hold.

He had just made a disgruntled noise to her blase response. "Be careful, Chlo. That's all I'm asking you" he pleaded. "We put a lot of people behind bars. It only takes one weirdo and that's that, you know it is. Be careful. Please".

"Dan" she replied, biting back the fact that she was about to say to him exactly what she had said to Lucifer only yesterday. _Stop telling me what to do!_ "It's fine, Dan"

He nodded, hand flexing wondering if it might be right if he just squeezed her arm; let her know he was there for her. He decided not to and the moment was interrupted by the buzzing of her cell phone. It was only a message. Linda.

_"__Still on for 4.30?"_

Chloe texted a quick 'yes' as they walked back to the car. Chivalry had overtaken him and Dan opened the passenger door for her. "Thank you" she smiled, sliding into the seat, checking back in the mirror to see if she could still see Raphael but he was well and truly gone.

The conversation was few and far between again as they rode back to the station and Dan left her at her desk to type up their preliminary report from the scene. He would have to have a word with Ella.

See what was going on.


	25. Chapter 25

"A lot has happened since we last had a session Chloe" Linda began, carefully watching her patient who was pulling at a piece of errant skin at the side of her nail. If she didn't stop soon, Chloe would make it bleed, but to Linda, it seemed she knew that already. "Chloe?" Linda asked, trying to catch her eye. "A lot of things have happened..."

"I know", Chloe whispered, shaking her head almost to bring herself back to life. She had only half heard the question and had taken 5 minutes of pushing from the therapist beyond 'hello' for the Detective to even open her mouth to say something.

"Would you describe it as positive or negative? All of these events?" Linda continued, as cool, calm and professional as ever and secretly her patient was pleased that she could separate their friendship and _this_. "I assume you and Lucifer were able to talk?" Linda left it at the innocent question. She knew full well, well knew Lucifer well enough, that their relationship was probably more now than just 'talking' and there had been more acts of the intimate kind that she had been so careful to warn Lucifer of. Linda was not entirely convinced he understood just how much harm, or indeed how vulnerable, the Detective was. He had not been her friend and confidante for twelve months; the lines slightly blurred as it was, but one false move...

Chloe thought for a second before an answer came to her lips. "More positive..." she started with a heavy sigh, "but still negative. I am pleased he is back, Linda and our...our...intimacy...its like we fit with each other perfectly". _ I was made for him. Miracle Child. Made just for the Devil himself._ "And I know you warned him off me..." Chloe's words were not harsh by any means but she saw a flicker on Linda's face.

"I didn't Chloe" Linda replied softly. "I simply suggested to him that he be more cautious of your emotional state and to be careful of rushing you..."

"And I do appreciate you wanting me to be safe. I do really" Chloe responded gently with a very genuine smile. "I know you have more perspective on this than me, but..." She steeled herself. "I've just spent the weekend with Satan. I have let Satan..." She gestered up and down her own body, going pink of cheek. "And, physically, emotionally, it felt.._.so_ _good_".

"Hey, me too. Been there" Linda replied, her professional persona slipping for a second before she caught herself but it helped Chloe relax a touch. "But that was before I knew who he was and he is not Satan. He is Lucifer. The person we have all come to know".

"Yes I know" Chloe responded. "And we did talk. A lot. He told me about Eve, told me what happened to make him come back here and I know he told me the truth. Then yesterday I ruined it all". Chloe proceded to tell Linda about Dr Fraser and their 'argument' or rather her snapping and running off leaving a bewildered Devil behind.

"Chloe, today, for you, I have all the time in the world" Linda soothed, clear the other woman was still heavily laden. "Amenediel has Charlie and you are my last session of the day you can say what you wish and take however long you wish" she concluded. "If it involves your physical health, I can only go with the clear advice you have been given by another medical professional. It is not my place to encroach on that except encourage you to listen to this Dr Fraser".

"Oh I don't know". Chloe ran her palms over her face. The Chloe of before would have taken that advice in a heartbeat. "I am so confused. This is not me to be so... I can be calm, collected, but being irresponsible isn't. The stupidest things...scare me, make me...short fused and it feels like my head is about to explode with all of this" she exclaimed, slumping back in the seat.

"Isn't it you?" Linda asked, wondering if the Chloe underneath was still that buttoned up Detective she knew. "Or have you been hiding you until he found you?"

Chloe pressed her lips together. She had spent her life pretending to be something else for everyone else. For Mom the wannabe A-lister with her eyes on an Oscar, for Dan the wife, Mom, lover, cook, cleaner, for Lucifer...What? He was the only one that didn't seem to want anything off her except her company. He wanted to give to her; not take. "I tell him I can be patient but I am not sure I can be". She sighed. "I want him back working with me, being with me in every possible way but it is all so out of control. Everything is so out of control! This is my penance for not, for not accepting him as I should have done..." Chloe was determined she would get through this session without crying but she was toeing a fine line.

"You love him" Linda stated, pleased that Chloe had suddenly become so verbose after her quiet start. "That, I can see".

"Yes" Chloe replied.

"You love him knowing everything about him" Linda paused realising that that was wrong. "No, I am incorrect. You love him knowing what he is capable of. He's dangerous, exciting, wild, impetuous but underneath he is just very, very lost...Is that fair?"

Chloe murmered a positive response. "He says I was put on this earth for him" she began, wondering if Linda knew already? Her face however was blank, impassive, so Chloe carried on. "Not in some kind of his own fantasy way but I really was and...It's alright" she mused. "It's not my mental state talking, its really alright to me that I was put here for him. He has had so much forced upon him - to be this creature he is not - and I know he thinks I was was forced upon him but I am there because I want to be".

"Is that not overwhelming?" Linda asked. She remembered how she felt when she found out Lucifer was telling her the truth all along, but perhaps there was now so much more at stake that the question did not even cover it.

The other woman shook her head and laughed quietly. "No" Chloe responded. "Its extraordinary, mind blowing but no, I was created especially for him by his Dad. To me it shows how much he is loved that his Dad would do that for him to...to save him. To bring him home""

"And a responsibility on you don't you think?"

"Yes", Chloe replied quickly. "But its not overbearing. To me its just above love..." she shrugged, although her eyes held a brightness that the therapist had not seen in months. "Linda... He's what I want. But is that it? Is it me? Am I despicable for loving the devil? It is me that's twisted?" It had not occurred to her until now that her being attracted to his other form might say more about her than it would about him.

"You know what he is underneath. That everything you have learned about him in the last year does that not outweigh all of those things you were told that the Devil was when you were a child? Even what Kinley said?" Linda asked, knowing the answer but it needed driving home.

"I do. He did say he would mess it up"

"And he has done to a point", Linda stated, but deciding her statement was not entirely fair on the Devil. "But didn't you just do the same by overreacting to the fact he only tried to help you with the doctor?"

"I know I did", Chloe pressed her hands to her face again. It was as though she couldn't help herself. "I find it hard to think he would just do anything for me after what I did to him and I reacted badly. I know I did".

Linda began wondering whether she should say what she was about to say, but she did. "Chloe, he would do anything for you. He...he...died for you".

"What?" Her eyes were wide, wild, wondering if she had misheard._ He died for me?_

"When you were poisoned" Linda began to explain, knowing she was in too deep now to just retract it as a comment. "He went to Hell to try to retrieve the recipe for the antidote. Well he did retrieve it. You are living proof he did".

"He did it before..." she replied, voice slow as Chloe considered the revelation, a cold sensation rushing over and around her skin. "He went to Hell for me once before and he did it again". All of a sudden she could not focus, eyes flying around the room and, like a switch something flipped inside her. Her head was swimming, thumping and she was utterly unable to catch her breath; lungs refusing to fill with oxygen as she started to panic. Linda saw it immediately and shot over from her seat to her.

"Chloe" Linda soothed, taking up her hands. "Breathe for me. Deep breathes, Chloe. Can you hear me?" She saw a rapid nod. "Good. Follow me". Linda repeated the exercise that she had taught her patient once before until. minutes later, her eyes refocused and the rise and fall of her chest evened out. The death grip Chloe had on the therapists' hands also eased.

"He died for me?!" Chloe asked again, still not quite out of the attack and staring at the opposite wall as the sunlight glinted on a glass vase on the shelf.

"He did" Linda responded, keeping cool. "I was there, you can ask Maze too". She watched as unbidden tears slipped from Chloe's eyes. "He believes in you. Now if you can believe yourself rather than punishing yourself for every misdemeanour Chloe..."

On hearing her name again, the switched flipped to off and Chloe blinked repeatedly, letting go of the therapist's hands and reaching to the table for a tissue. She felt embarrassed and ashamed at such a public display, feeling Linda's palm glide gently up and down her spine to soothe away the last of the jittering feeling in her stomach.

"Now" Linda began, moving away to other topics but not from her seat, "from what you tell me you need to have that operation".

"That's what Ella said", Chloe replied slinking back to slump on the coach, pressing a tissue to her red cheeks. Her heart rate was still uncomfortably high. "I will just hurt him even more if I refuse his offer but I think I've done that already. I need to stop flying off the handle every five minutes. It's killing me all this. The first thing I did this morning was cry. As soon as I woke up, in the shower, sitting there in the lab in work _crying. I can't do it anymore._ I think you are right. I want him in my life for as long as I can get and I would like some help before he isn't any more" Chloe confessed. Talking was still doing her no good. "I think I need to take something or have some kind of programme otherwise I'll be no use to anyone; not even myself".

Linda nodded carefully; knowing as a therapist she could not prescribe. "Seize the day" she said, squeezing Chloe's shoulder. "I will speak to Dr Goodman upstairs. In fact, I know he is in. Wait here. I will be back shortly."

Chloe nodded moving her knees out of the way so Linda could walk past and taking her cell out of her back pocket as the door closed behind the therapist. No messages from Lucifer; no messages from anyone in fact. A few minutes later of absently messing about on Trixie's instagram and hoping that the whirring in brain would slow, Chloe heard a brief knock on the door. Instinctively she got up to answer it, knowing Linda was still upstairs.

"Oh" she said, raising her eyes to find Lucifer standing in front of her. He had a touch of a shocked expression on his face and it must have matched hers.

"You're not the good doctor", he replied, words almost drying in his mouth. _What a stupid thing to say you freak_. _Of course, she's not Linda._

"She's... she's upstairs" Chloe stuttered, shoving her cell back into her pocket as she gestured towards the ceiling with her other hand. "Getting something for me..."

"I haven't got an appointment" Lucifer confessed, hoping he could charm his way to the Doctor's diary even for a few minutes. It was quarter to six. He thought the Detective would have been long gone by now. "Do you want me to go?"

"No, no" she stuttered, waving her hand again. "It's fine. Linda and I were done. Maybe...tell her to call me?"

He nodded, stepping out of her way and almost tripping on the rug as he moved too close to the wall. "I will"

"Thank you" Chloe replied, a thin smile on her lips_. I want him in my life for as long as I can get. _Now he was suddenly, surprisingly still looking at her with a lost expression on his face. Chloe did not know what to think. _Why didn't he tell me about the antedote?_ They did need to clear the air but her brain was telling her to flee. Everything was so unbalanced, so uncertain again by a simple argument. Lucifer sighed as she almost shot down the hallway and away from him. How had they gone from devouring each other to barely being able to speak to each other in less than 24 hours? He pushed the door of Dr Martin's office and decided to wait.

"Is it underneath it all she still finds me repulsive?" he asked before Linda even had a chance to sit down let alone object to his presence. "She virtually just ran away from me again".

Linda sat, a piece of paper in her hand that she had intended be for Chloe. She breathed in and out, annoyed at him for simply appearing and expecting to be seen. That was the old Lucifer; the self centered one that she had thought had taken his leave. She knew, however, that when he had certain things on his mind, his vision became narrow and blinkered. "I was just about to lock up for the evening, Lucifer"

He looked up at her, her terse words not sinking in. All that he could think about was the Detective's retreating form. "She just ran away from me!" he exclaimed. "Like before!"

"Lucifer" Linda breathed settling back into her chair, realising this might be a long evening. "You said she gave herself to you. Knowing precisely what you looked like underneath this facade you say you have. I sense that she does not do that to all and sundry".

"Yes. Even asked me to see my devil face again and she still...she still let me..." He sighed, sitting back in the seat that just minutes ago Chloe had vacated. "I can do so much for her Doctor, I can protect her. Make her and the urchin's lives so comfortable that they need not worry".

"Maybe she doesn't want that" Linda observed.

"That's more than clear" he replied, tersely.

"No what I mean is that she doesn't want everything handed to her on a plate, even though you can ten times over and more I imagine" she replied. She had no idea how much wealth he had, but he _owned_ the tallest tower block in LA. That must mean something.

"But I can do that. I can buy her the stars if I want to. I can go and get her one!" He exclaimed, arm flying out to reflect the grand gesture that it was.

"That's it, Lucifer. If _you_ wanted to. She doesn't want stars. She just wants you. Without the champagne and roses every second of the day for as long as she can have. Give her you" Linda insisted. "The underneath".

He dropped his head. 'He' wasn't good enough for her. "She mesmerises me", he sighed. "but I did not realise I would be such a burden to her. That I would make her..make her ill, because I have haven't? Me being in her life, me being out of her life..."

"Until there is a resolution Lucifer, you will both feel that way until you either...stay or say goodbye". Linda felt her voice wobble at the thought and she coughed away the lump in her throat. "You know how hard she works, bringing up a child on her own" He nodded carefully. "What I am saying Lucifer, is start again. Go to the cinema or even a drive thru, kiss her good night and leave her while you are still on the doorstep. Spend some time together as companions that doesn't involve sex or copious amounts of money. It may ease the transition".

He frowned. "Her life is only so short. She mustn't waste it".

"I don't think she is wasting it with you. Nor does she", Linda replied as Lucifer sighed again. "She has accepted more intense intervention, Lucifer. To be better for the future".

His head flew up. "She has?"

Linda nodded, breaking another confidence but they were her friends too. "A colleague of mine has agreed to see her". She paused as he digested the news. "Have you spoken to your brothers?" Linda had not been part of the conversation that Amenediel had with Gabriel and Raphael. She did not want to be although she knew of Michael and Eve.

"Yes. They can get stuffed", Lucifer responded as Linda laughed at the strength of his words. "They want me to be their bait to get Michael away from Eve and Eve back to the Silver City. As I said. They can get stuffed; except Amenediel. I will continue to tolerate his presence on this Earth for yours and Charlie's sake". He leant forward, eyes pleading with her for guidance. "Why should I be their pawn, Doctor? They haven't said boo to me in millennia and all of a sudden I'm useful again. I've more important things to worry about" He looked up. "Why are you smiling? Oh! I used the word 'worry'. How very human of me" he mused.

"Lucifer you might be able to tell your brothers to 'get stuffed'; tell them to sort out their own mess but you have to take some responsibility for it too. And Chloe. For a start you are not her Master. However long you may be here, whatever authority you may have in Hell, or even in Heaven that you can exert with your brothers, this is neither. Take this time for what it is. Let her choose but think how you might help her navigate herself and her feelings through this".

Lucifer thought for a moment. Yes all of these celestrial machinations they were how he had lived his life. Heaven, Hell, warring archangels, Dad's influence; they were all things he was more than used to. She however was not and Linda saw his eyes light up. "I know the very thing". Her voice was a warning as he heard his name. "No, I mean it. Something practical where I won't be spending a single cent and I will be useful to her. Its perfect!" He stood up, strode across and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Ten seconds later he was gone.

Chloe's heart jumped when she saw who had sent her a text. The day after he left he went from 'Lucifer' in her cell to a devil emoji and a black heart. Somehow it felt easier that way. Seeing his name only made it more difficult and it summed up her desperation. Half way up the path to the house, she punched the passcode into her cell and opened up the message. Chloe was not sure what she was expecting to find, pressing her lips together as she read. Instead it was a simple message.

_'Tribe night still? Friday?'_ A simple single 'x' accompanied the question. No devil face, no emojis, just a simple kiss.

_'Yes. Think so'._ She considered adding an 'x' for a moment, her finger hovering over the key. _Why are you hesitating? Just do it. _

_"Good...what time do you want me there for the urchin to devil-sit? x"_

Chloe bit her lip, almost about to cry. She had nearly forgotten his offer; in fact part of her was still not sure he even meant it._ 'Six x?'_

_'On the dot x'_

_'Thank you..'_ She typed as she stood on the porch. _'I'm going to ask Dr Fraser go ahead x'_. Chloe smiled; relieved that she seemed to have finally made her decision and he was the first person she told. In truth, this last day or so, her hip had started to hurt even more and despite her opinions of herself, she did have other people to think of. Trixie particularly. Chloe pulled her door key out of her bag before she felt her cell buzz again and again twice in quick succession.

'_I love you x'_

_'For eternity. Never forget x'_

Chloe smiled.

_ 'I won't x'_

_'I love you too x'_

She would call Dr Fraser now, before she changed her mind.


	26. Chapter 26

Chloe was getting ready, not so reluctantly this time, for Tribe Night and her daughter was supervising the dress, make up and shoe code as she always did on the rare occasions when her mother went out for the night. Her uneasiness seemed to have quelled since the Devil offered to baby sit her child, even though he had joked it was the other way around. The thought brought a brief smile to her lips for the surreal absurdity of it all as out of the corner of her eye, Trixie was looking her up and down.

"Mom?"

"Yes babe?" Chloe replied, letting it go that seemingly overnight she was no longer 'Mommy' to her daughter.

"What time's Lucifer going to be here?" Trixie asked, standing leaning against the bedroom door, framed with a glow from the hallway. It was the third time she had asked since she came home from school. Chloe could read her daughter like a book and she did not favour that nervous look on face nor the fact she was hugging a stuffed boss-eyed bear that had not seen the light of day for years.

"Six" Chloe replied, spinning sideways in front of the mirror to look at the back of her dress, ignoring the fact she has said it before. "Like I asked him to be Trix". Trixie just nodded her head as she continued to stand now starting to chew her nails; the bear tight against her chest. Chloe could see she needed to say something else but it was stuck somewhere inside. So, Chloe stopped inspecting her dress and turned her full attentions to her child. "Why what's wrong sweetheart? You can tell me..."

"Don't you like Lucifer anymore?" Trixie blurted out. It had been worrying her for days every since she noticed Lucifer didn't seem to be there when she woke up any more. Had he gone again just like last time when he didn't even say 'goodbye'? There one second and gone the next and she didn't understand why.

"Trix...?" Chloe replied, walked across to her daughter, putting her hands on her shoulders in comfort. "Why do you say that?"

The young girl looked up. "Because he hasn't been here until tonight and he hasn't called. I thought he was your boyfriend and you were going to be happy again". Her daughters brown eyes were wide and expectant. She _liked _Lucifer and this wasn't fair.

Chloe's heart dropped to her shoes before it was replaced with her cringed internally. She was too old to term him her 'boyfriend'. In fact she was really not sure what he was but she could see that Trixie was worried. "He just has things to do, Trix", Chloe said, trying to soothe her, drifting her palm over shiny brunette hair. "With his business...He has things to sort out".

It was a half truth and 'business' in all ways you could term it. Lux, his brothers – two things to do at least and she imagined there would likely be plenty more that she had no idea about. The latest word from Amenediel was that they had not been able to track Michael down and she knew Lucifer thought him being at her house was potentially troublesome so it seemed he was staying away. That and the argument that wasn't too and it still weighed on her chest. Her daughter's worry just added to that ever growing pile.

"Okay" Trixie replied, her voice was still unsure as she blinked away tears that were threatening. "If you say so Mom".

"Babe", Chloe continued, guiding the child so they were both sitting on the bed; mother wrapping a warm and comforting arm around her only offspring. "I promise you. Lucifer and me...this is different to your Dad and _very_ different to Marcus". It would be too much to explain to the youngster about the prophecy or that Chloe Jane Decker was put on this earth by God to save his wayward son. Way, way too much.

"Okay" Trixie repeated, still not sure but the door bell rang interrupting them before she could ask another question.

Chloe frowned. It was 5.50pm according to her bedside clock. He had to be early,didn't he? "Go get that for me babe? It's probably him."

Her daughter shot off and Chloe stood up again, looking at herself in the mirror. A heavy lashing of concealer had dealt with the dark patches under her eyes, hoping the bright red lipstick and her now curly hair might detract from how tired she still looked. This dress used to hug perfectly too; now she could see it hung loose her around her hips. Chloe sighed. No, she would enjoy tonight. Not get drunk, or silly or do anything she might regret in the morning. No, she would come home at a reasonable hour, no problem, back to Lucifer as he would be here and she would be fine. Course she would. No drama, no crises, just a pleasant night out with friends. She cleared her throat, brushed down her skirt, straightened her shoulders and sent up a wild prayer to Lucifer's Dad- since he did actually exist now - that it would be okay, wouldn't it?

Two minutes later an over excited Trixie arrived back at her door. "Lucifer's here!" she squealed, almost jumping up and down in glee. She was also carrying a small bunch of pink and purple daises, having abandoned the bear to his fate sitting on the back of the couch. Chloe smiled at her daughter's new enthusiasm. She had worried about how Trixie might react to Lucifer being back and this development in their relationship but if anything else she seemed more concerned if they were _not_ together. Still though Lucifer Morningstar was hardly father material; more like that slightly demented, eccentric and deeply inappropriate uncle but a good man all the same.

Chloe checked her appearance once more in the mirror, nervous but this time it was a pleasant anticipatory bubbling in her stomach at seeing him. She needed to apologise to him in person for her freak-out and she would not leave the house before.

Lucifer produced a bunch of flowers from behind his back as she rounded the corner into the open plan area. No roses; they were gerbera daisies all pink, white and purple and just a bigger version of what he had given Trixie. The fact that the Devil was standing in her hallway, dressed immaculately in a tailored suit even though he was in for the night and giving her flowers, just about set a few more brain cells alight.

"Thank you" she smiled, taking them and they hovered; him wondering what to say and she wondering if she should give him a 'thank you' kiss. Would he welcome it? Why _was_ she so apprehensive? Say sorry and hope he is happy to forgive. It was not like the word hadn't been uttered her mouth before; to him or others.

"You look...perfect" Lucifer said all of a sudden, the words flying out of his mouth. Nervous? Yes, it seemed the Devil was actually nervous but she looked _edible. _Despite his desires to keep a lid on matters and stop becoming _too_ involved, the few days away from her had not dampened down the fact that if the urchin was not there, she would be over the back of the couch, still in that dress and holy fu...the shoes. He hadn't noticed the heels notwithstanding the fact she was almost eye level with him. It just hadn't occurred._  
_

"Thank you" she smiled, almost having a stranglehold of the stems of the flowers and it broke him from where his mind had travelled to.

Lucifer tipped his head to one side, realising he had to break the ice otherwise they would be staring at each other like fools all night. "I do like the dress and the...the heels" he stuttered.

Chloe looked down but didn't say anything, conscious that she could feel her daughter's eyes boring into the back of her head. "Now!" he said, clapping his hands and walking into the sitting room where Trixie was seated watching him. He needed to get himself out of this pickle before the child got a view of something that would confuse and traumatise her for life. "Don't get too drunk. I don't want to have to take that dress off you and have to put you to bed" he warned. Instead of a smirk on his face, she spun around and found him all too serious as the little Devil on his shoulder was pushed firmly into a dark corner.

"I won't" she smiled, still asphyxiating the flowers.

There was a second of silence and out of the corner of their eyes they could see Trixie looking up at them expectantly. "Urchin? Do you require something?" Lucifer asked, hearing a beep of the cab outside for Chloe.

"Yes" Trixie replied, standing up and taking the flowers off her mother. "You have to kiss Mom goodbye". He saw the very determined look on the spawns face.

"Your child has the subtlety of a house brick repeatedly slammed in this exceptionally handsome visage" he muttered to her and Chloe's eyes slowly wandered across to his. Lucifer cleared his throat. In some random way, he noticed the child stopped calling her 'Mommy'. Things have changed.

"If your mother wishes me to" Lucifer offered, Chloe slightly taken aback that he was actually asking her consent. He bowed his head slightly but she did not miss the grave look in his eyes.

"She does" Chloe squeaked, feeling an unsure palm slide up her jaw as he stepped forward. What she received was perhaps the gentlest kiss he had ever given her. The second their lips parted Chloe's whispered her 'sorry for freaking out on you' and his equally as quiet 'accepted', calmed her.

"Satisfied now spawn?" Lucifer asked, swinging his head towards the child. Chloe missed the feel of his palm on her jaw immediately.

Trixie bounced up and down and clapped. "You can go now Mom!" Trixie squealed, pulling Lucifer by the arm away from Chloe and into the kitchen to find vases for the two bunches of flowers. The youngster had already decided where they would go in the house.

"Thank you!" Chloe laughed as she was abandoned by the door. "Be good for Lucifer, babe" she said, on her way out taking up her leather jacket from the hook, thinking the cab would go if she made him wait very much longer.

"I will do. Go Mom!"

Lux was heaving, bouncing and the three women who were swept past security to the front of the incredibly long queue, could barely hear each other speak as they approached the bar and the drinks that were already laid out for them. "This is awesome" Ella shouted as Maze approached from a door at the side of the bar to meet them. "You getting all intimate 'n stuff with the boss has its advantages!"

"Ella!" Linda scolded.

"It's fine" Chloe replied genuinely with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I imagine Maze knows anyways"

They all heard a huffing sound from the demon. "Yeah, she knows that Decker's getting boned brainless by the richest dude in LA" she said, reaching across to take up a glass, actually careful of referring to him as the Devil. One of the drinks on the bar went down in one. "So how is it Decker? Enjoying riding the Morningstar train?" she asked. Maze fully expected an answer. "Has he had you over that piano yet?" she asked, leaning closer with a more than inquisitive look on her face; more than knowing too she was being provoking. Chloe's face crumpled and her cheeks burned. She wasn't even remotely merry enough yet for this and she wanted the ground to swallow her up. "He hasn't has he?!" Maze cackled, leaning in closer and closer. "What is it Decker? You been left with that couch at your place with the noisy springs?"

The Detective felt Linda's arm around snake around her waist as the therapist shot a more than dirty look at the demon. "In in all seriousness Chloe if this is too much, we can go..." he said, Chloe feeling Linda's palm soothe over the base of her spine.

"No, no, it's fine" Chloe replied, trying to put on a convincing face as Maze's eyes were positively shining with mirth. "Pass me a drink".

An hour and a half later, with blood sufficiently lubricated with alcohol, Linda was perched on stool by the bar, a plentiful conveyor belt of rosé being supplied to her by the bar tender. "Thank you Patrick" she smiled as other one was pushed towards her by the ever attentive bar man, leaving one more for Ella and a shot for Maze who were yards away.

"Pleasure" the man smiled as Ella and Maze sidled up back from a visit to the bathroom. Always travel in packs. Better that way, particularly as Patrick was under orders to look after them personally for the night.

"Hey" Ella smiled to the doctor, the music a little quieter so normal conversation could be had. "Where's Decker gone?"

"There" Linda replied, pointing towards the stairs with her freshly full glass. She had been watching Chloe carefully all night, entirely unable to switch off completely from her patient and any signs she was struggling. The other women looked across, only able to see the back of the man that Chloe was animatedly talking to and it was too dark for anyone to recognise him. All of a sudden the pair turned and they saw Chloe had hold of his hand and they were walking across.

"For fu..." Maze started, slamming down her shot glass on the bar, shattering it to pieces under her hand. "Not him..."

"That's Raphael isn't it?" Linda noted squinting slightly into the darkness.

"What?" Ella exclaimed – thoroughly lost - but by the time the question came from her mouth, the pair were by her side. "Raphael? Who is he?!"

"Lucifer's other brother" Chloe answered for the others as she heard the question. "Raphie this is Ella Lopez, Ella this is Raphael. I think you know Maze and Linda".

"Doctor, Miss Lopez" Raphael smiled, before his face dropped being greeted with a lascivious smile from the demon, who was drawing a piece of broken glass over wood of the bar; not drawing a scratch but enough to make the celestial uneasy. "Mazikeen. A pleasure once more if ever there was a day". In her nicely merry state, Chloe suppressed a laugh. Seems Raphael was as good as sarcasm as his brother.

"You're handsome" Ella suddenly blurted out towards Raphie, the rest of the group, bar him bursting out laughing everyone apart from Maze well on their way to being tipsy. "So pretty" , she continued as she pawed his arm. "Call me Ella".

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ella", Raphael responded with a good natured smile and quietly Chloe was pleased he was so amiable.

"You too" the forensic replied, suddenly remembering where she had seen him before."You were in the station!" She has seen Chloe come out of the interview room with him. Of course!

"I was" he replied, somewhat comforted that Miss Decker had her arm wrapped into his. Hanging around a night club with loud music, drunken people and a Demon who was now staring at him and now running that piece of glass over her lips was not part of the job description when Father sent him to Earth on his blessed mission. He shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"Can we get you a drink?" Linda asked, seeing his discomfort as the music ramped up.

"Like my brother, Doctor" he responded having to raise his voice, "the addictive poison you imbibe has no effect on me but I will take an iced water. Thank you."

Chloe knew why he was here and was silently grateful as the glass was passed over and the angel melted into the group. She still had hold of his arm like an anchor in the storm.

Back home, Lucifer's brain was going numb. The urchin's choice of televisual entertainment for the evening was interesting in a very trying way and his eyes were closing out of sheer boredrom. No wonder the Detective was so stressed and uptight if she had to listen to this inane rubbish of an evening. He needed a drink and the Detective bouncing on his lap. That would make a satisfactory evening, therapist's nagging willing. Still though, dirty and highly inappropriate thoughts aside he had promised the Detective he would care for her sticky offspring, so here he was. "Libations, urchin?" he asked, the child snuggled up to his side, leaning on him. He needed to get up and walk around.

"Yes please. Cherry soda please" Trixie replied after a second. "Your whiskey is in the back of the pantry if you want it. Third shelf behind the cereal..."

"My whiskey?" he replied, confused, going to get up but stopping.

"Yeah" Trixie responded, still transfixed on the screen. "Mom kept a bottle for you. She took it from Lux. I told her it was wrong to steal".

With an 'oh' Lucifer extricated himself from the child and wandered across to the kitchen. He wasn't bothered about the fact that the Detective had taken it from the bar, moreso that she kept it on the chance he might come back. Just as he was pouring, there was a knock on the door and before he could look up, Trixie was at the window, pushing the blind aside to see who it was.

"Who's there?" Lucifer asked, cautious as to who it might be, taking up his glass and the can of soda for Beatrice.

"Amenediel and Charlie and a man with long blonde hair. He looks like a beach bum" Trixie replied bluntly, looking back at him and the back to the figures outside.

That one got an extra special eye roll and a snort of laughter. "Let them in urchin. The other ones our brother Gabe" Lucifer asked, walking across and passing her the soda.

"Like Gabriel who visited Mary?" Trixie asked, closing the blind again as her wide, incredulous eyes met his. Just like when she saw him at school and he told her he was Lucifer. Seems the urchin had believed him then so there was no reason not to say exactly who his brother was now.

Lucifer was glad she used the word 'visited' thought. "Yes the one that artificially impregnated a teenager" he replied, downing half the glass of whiskey he had poured. He wished the Detective was around now so he could get least a touch tipsy. Trixie opened the door and let them in.

"Brother, nephew" Lucifer said with a smile before his face fell and he turned his attentions to Gabriel, swallowing the rest of the whiskey before he said anything more; steeling himself. "What do _you _want? My evening was going so well until I saw your repellant mug..." He watched as Trixie took Amenediel by the hand to pull him towards the settee, hopefully oblivous to the tension between the brothers. "I am busy Gabe, get on with it".

"Your little piece is out at that awful club of yours", Gabe began. The look on his face told Lucifer all he needed to know.

"She is not a 'little piece', Gabe" Lucifer spat, pulling his brother to one side almost into the kitchen so Trixie would not hear her mother being talked about like that. "She is at Lux because I have told the staff to treat her like my Queen. Now tell me what you want and then you can go". Lucifer crossed his arms. He was an inch taller than his brother and used it tonight to his advantage. "Unless its related to the Detective, the Tribe or Beatrice I am not particularly partial to your interruption". Gabe looked confused when he mentioned 'The Tribe' but Lucifer was in no mood to explain. Amenedial was listening though and leaving Charlie in the older child's hands, he walked across to his brothers.

"We've found Michael" Amenediel started gravely, watching the children carefully for fear of little ears.

"What?" Lucifer asked, his stance tightening as he regarding his brother's face.

"I was taking Charlie for a drive" Amenediel responded. "He wasn't sleeping so we..." He waved his hand in the air. "I passed Lux and saw Michael on the other side of the street. I don't think he saw me. I tried to call someone up, just to see if it worked again and..." he gestured towards Gabriel. "We didn't see him go in though. He might be keeping his distance, feeling things out".

"Chloe's there..." Lucifer muttered, eyes suddenly wild. He did not trust Michael one iota with his deepest and greatest weakness. What had Eve told Michael of the Detective? "I can't leave the child. The Detective would tear me limb from limb if I took the urchin to Lux on a Friday night".

"I know" Amenediel replied. "So we left Raphael with her. We saw her, warned her that he might there". He only heard a snort of laughter from Lucifer at the kind, gentle hearted Raphie having to endure the music, alcohol and barely clothed women that frequented his club. That and the drugs and debauchery that sometimes got out of hand too. Sometimes? Frequently more like.

"We will stay with you just in case he comes here" Gabriel continued. "Despite the fact you seem reluctant at best to assist in his repatriation, the Miracle Child needs protection from him as do you".

"I can protect her" Lucifer replied, sharply squinting at his brother in barely disguised anger.

"I know you can" Gabriel responded, "but would you rather have another pair of hands or two to do so?"

Lucifer sighed heavily and conceded the point. "Alright. Sit down if you have to. You can meet the Detective's walking and breathing advert for contraception". Amenediel could see his brother was joking but the stick up Gabriel's arse was not for budging.

"Wait" Gabriel asked, putting his palm on Lucifer's bicep. "Does the child know who you are? Who you really are?"

"Yes she does" he replied before a thought struck. "More importantly, how did you know I was here?"

"Linda kind of accidentally said you were looking after Trixie tonight before she went out" Amenediel offered as the three sat down. Trixie was sitting cross legged on the floor playing with Charlie and waiting for her introductions but after that, most of the evening was spent in silence, Lucifer silently brewing until it almost approached midnight. Should he call her? Text her? You know, just making sure she was alright? Maybe asking what time she would be home or just to say 'hello'? He pushed his fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp. He sounded like a sappy, controlling boyfriend, hanging on for that text, annoying her when she was probably having fun and several sheets to the wind by now. No, he sounded like someone that couldn't let go of someone he had no claim over quite yet.

He sighed again, briefly catching Amenediel's eye; his son asleep on his lap. Lucifer didn't know what love was, or how he could be loved but he saw his brother had it with his son. Eve, the urchin, Chloe...he knew he felt something. What exactly what was he to these humans, the latter in particular? The one that had welcomed him home in a manner he did not feel worthy of even though time might be their ultimate undoing? He had never tried a relationship before apart from Eve and look where that left him and that was not exclusive by any means. The whiskey tonight had been the first alcoholic drink he had in Dad knows when and had not even thought of sex with anyone but the Detective.

Lucifer didn't have any idea when Chloe, Ella or Linda may drag themselves home. Could he go over there? Trixie would be fine with Gabriel and Amenediel, surely, if he just nipped over there? Surely?


	27. Chapter 27

**Warning: a few F words and other swears, symptoms of PTSD and if M rated naughtiness is not your thing don't read between the parts marked between the two (**) near the end - you won't miss out on anything that changes the story but it's not so graphic to ramp up the rating for the whole chapter or for the rest of the story :) **

Chloe had disappeared off to the bathroom, escaping the clutches of the Tribe and the music of Lux for five minutes.

She would describe herself, if she had to, as being nicely drunk; relaxed but still able to walk in a straight line and in no danger of falling off her heels. In the stall, lifting up her dress she had examined the bruise on her hip, purple, red and green and shaking her head, she pressed it slightly. A slice of pain broke through the alcohol and quickly she smoothed her dress down and exited the stall to the sinks, not wanting to think about it nor the impending operation. Hands washed and leaning forward a slick of red swiped across her lips, a quick check of her cell found no messages or calls. Chloe was not sure whether she was pleased or not.

Leaning slightly closer to the mirror, something caught her attention. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a dark, brooding but very familiar figure, dressed in sharp suit propped up against the wall by the door. He had his head bowed slightly.

"Hey there handsome!" Chloe exclaimed going back to gently brushing down the tendrils of hair that decided to lose their curl in the warmth of the club. "What are you doing here?" Something in her brain had not connected the dots that if he was there, then Trixie was alone. She of course had no idea Amenediel and Gabriel were at home.

Still messing with her hair, Chloe heard the lock on the main bathroom door click before she saw him cock his head to one side as he wandered across, appraising the line of her back and down her legs in her stance over the sink. "Oh, I'm getting the silent treatment am I?" she teased, gently pressing the side of her mouth to nudge away a smudge of freshly applied lipstick. He lingered in her peripheral vision seeping something that turned the temperature up in the room a few degrees. "I know you own the place but the ladies bathroom, Luce? You really want to have me in here?" She knew there was no-one else in the stalls so she was free to say what she wished and it was followed by what she could only describe as a slightly drunken giggle at the prospect. Sober Chloe wouldn't have even made the suggestion to him, because she knew he would take it up.

The dark suit moved behind her as she straightened, closing her eyes ready to feel whatever he intended to do as his arm came around her shoulder, one finger smoothing over her skin, her collarbone and shifting her dress, her chest; the other, dragging up the hem of her skirts as she felt his palm slide up her thigh. Lips gently touched the nape of her neck. Chloe breathed in, inhaling his scent ready to give in ten times over. A moment later, however, her eyes flew open to their reflections in the mirror.

"Get the fuck off me!" she screamed, stamping on his foot with a sharp heel and spinning around. In the confusion she landed a cracking punch on the man's jaw as he staggered backwards. "Shit!" she shouted, heart racing and feeling bile and alcohol rise in her throat. "You're not Lucifer!"

The man, a frighteningly identical image of the Devil himself, was leaning against one of the frames of the stalls holding his chin, winded and staring at her. "I know I'm not and for that I am thankful for". He had an accent she did not recognise and he must have seen the fury in her eyes.

"You're Michael" Chloe stated, swallowing away fear and wishing she had her side arm in her bag. _The click of the lock on the bathroom door...Fuck._

"Good guess Chloe" he smiled, straightening up, still pressing at his jaw. She couldn't care less if she had broken it, or knocked out a few teeth. She knew what he had done to Lucifer both now and millennia ago and that punch was justified, let alone the fact that he has just tried to assault her; her thinking he was his brother.

Cornered in a bathroom, in the basement of Lux by a man who was probably ten times stronger than her and she was terrified, sobering up immediately. "I am not Chloe to you" she stated, voice raised and filled with a hatred that belied the fact that she could feel her hands shaking.

"No" Michael smiled. "Of course you are not. You are my brother's little toy". He leered at her, but it wasn't the same when Lucifer did it. This time it just induced fury. "I have to say I knew my brother had quite the eye but you are the one my father willed into existence, aren't you?" He did wonder if Lucifer had actually grown a pair of testicles and told her. "You humans are so _easy,_ perfumes you wear, short skirts...so easy on the eyes..."

"And if I am the one God willed into existence?" Chloe replied loudly, feeling brave and taking a step towards him. It sounded insane enough that if she was heard, whoever might come in and intervene. He had moved from the divider between the stalls and into the body of the bathroom, blocking her path out. She saw a change in his expression.

"Miss Decker..."

Five seconds later the door bust open with an almighty bang as the lock gave way and there was Maze with fury leeching from every pore, knife drawn and ready to spring at whoever had assaulted her friend. "I heard the noise" she began, eyeing up the man. "Decker, you alright?" Maze asked, starting to circle Michael, hands flexing around the ivory handle of the weapon she was holding. It was clear the demon knew who he was.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine Maze" Chloe responded, but the demon was by no way convinced, particularly as the Detective did not seem to have noticed the strap of her dress was still down her shoulder. A random thought entered Chloe's head as to how Maze found her downstairs. Maybe she had been sent to bounty hunt her yet again by the others.

"Well if it isn't Lucifer's lame ass twinny..." Maze began, still on her route. "Hello Michael, enjoying the City of Angels and its delights? Enjoying them too much by the looks of my friend here..." she offered seeing Chloe shift the strap of her dress back to where it ought to have been.

"It certainly has its advantages" he began, watching the knife in particularly that was now pressed to his cheek. Chloe could see a red mark on his chin where she had thumped him. "Pretty little humans...distracting humans..."

Maze made a huffing noise, pushing the knife closer. "Want me to kill him Decker? I can make it quick. Just a little cut here..." she breathed, so close to him that Michael could smell vodka on her breath, seeing the knife sparkle. "One little snip to the jugular should do it...can I see if he's vulnerable, just once, just see if I can hurt him?! Please let me Decker, just this time!" Her voice was almost excited at the prospect as she bared her teeth.

"Maze no" Chloe breathed. "Lucifer wouldn't want that". He wanted him alive so he could kick him back up to Dad she imagined. She knew he certainly wanted to know something else as well, as did Raphael and Gabriel. "Where's Eve?" Chloe asked bluntly, stepping closer. It was time she invaded his space now she had support.

"I don't know" Michael replied. He did look like he meant it but Chloe was not too sure. "Genuinely, Miss Decker. I am trying to find her too". His voice was low and entirely unlike it had been barely a few minutes before. "I have lost her".

"When did you last see her?" Chloe asked switching up to detective mode as Maze ran her nose over the archangel's cheek, making it clear she was testing him.

"A few earth days ago" he replied. "In a sinful place called Las Vegas". Chloe snorted with laughter before she saw a change in his expression. "I apologise Miss Decker, for..." he waved his hand generally in the direction of her body. "I should know better. Your world is...it has temptations that should be below me and I...I feel a connection to you". For the time being she accepted his apology even though this 'connection' sent shivers down her spine. She had to take it at face value even though she was more than wary of him. Maze's face said it all until he grabbed hold of her wrist and it made both women jump. "You, however demon, do not deserve more than being returned to Hell where you belong".

A smile appeared on the side of Maze's lips. "I would not give you the satisfaction you dick". She wrenched her arm away from him, flipping her knife closer to his skin. He just laughed at her. They had both heard Lucifer laugh like that before; a deep, malevolent rumbling that set Chloe's nerves on edge.

"Don't worry demon, one day I will..." A rush of air and he was gone.

"What the..?" Chloe exclaimed. She had hoped to get him upstairs to Raphael but all of a sudden he was gone.

"That was unfair, Decker!" Maze protested as the door swung shut, half minded to run after him. "I haven't had a decent kill in months and that jerk is asking for it on every level!"

"Maze" Chloe started picking up her cell and bag. "It's fine. I think I made him realise his behaviour was unacceptable even before he..." she made a flying gesture with her hand. The demon just grimaced at her, still riled up and antsy as she spun the knife around in her fingers. "Come on, a couple more drinks and I need to go and relieve the Devil of my hell child". The demon grunted a half-assed agreement. "Maze", Chloe replied firmly opening up the wrecked bathroom door. "Come on. I need to tell Raphie that he was here too".

The rest of the night had gone, thankfully quietly and Raphael had gone on his mission to find his brother with the promise that Chloe would go home. Now lightly buzzed, Chloe did need to go home and sleep so she acquiesed.

Cab ride over she stepped out, pleased to find only the sitting room light on. She was confused for a moment when she saw Amenediel's car on the driveway parked behind hers. Still, she thought as she walked up the path, maybe Lucifer had just invited him around for company. Silently she was pleased. Opening the front door she was greeted with the sight of Lucifer and his brother plus a sleepy Charlie sitting, the television on low, plus in a single seat _Gabriel._

"Is there some kind of film about this?" Chloe asked, eyes tracking over the three men and a baby as she shut the door. Well angels and baby.

"Funny" Lucifer replied, getting up to hug her which she easily reciprocated, warm and dare she say, the Devil felt _cosy_? He knew what her second question would be. "Your offspring is asleep. I checked about a minute ago".

"Thank you" Chloe whispered, leaning up to kiss him, not caring that he had two brothers in the room before she shot off to check on her daughter anyway, returning a moment later back to his arms.

"So did you have a good time?" he asked, genuinely interested. "I did think of coming down there but your gremlin woke up wanting provisions and well, you'd castrate me even more than you have already if I did..."

"Partly, I erm..." Chloe looked from Lucifer to Gabriel and Amenediel, ignoring for now the fact he would have turned up at the club. "Michael cornered me in Lux when I went to the bathroom". She saw Lucifer's eyes flash red and the two other angels tense up. "He said he had no idea where Eve is now" she offered, cutting to the chase and knowing they would all want to know. "He last saw her a few days ago". She paused, staring up at the Devil. "Lucifer?"

"Yes, beautiful?" he asked, brushing his fingertips over her temple, temporarily distracted even though his eyes were still a rumbling scarlet.

"I punched him" she confessed, her cheeks going red in embarrassment and realisation as to what she had done.

"Who..?" Lucifer asked, before he realised. "You...punched Michael?"

"Yeah" Chloe replied sheepishly, feeling like a child who was about to be told off.

Lucifer, however, laughed wildly his eyes turning back brown and pulled her closer to him, his arms around her neck as her cheek was pressed close to his chest. "I knew I loved you for a reason." He touched a kiss to her forehead. Chloe was tired and warm. She could go to sleep just right here. "That's perfect! I wish I'd witnessed that". Gabriel looked stone faced at the sight of his brother gone soft over this human, even if she was Miracle Child that _and_ the fact she had thumped an archangel.

Amenediel smiled, almost laughed too at the image but his voice was grave. "He must have gone in when we left. Maybe he did see me. You did tell Raphael, Chloe?" he asked.

"He went off to try and find him when we left Lux" she concluded, unsure if he had found anything or nothing. "Linda and Ella got a cab together" she added realising he might want to know. Amenediel breathed a 'thank you' as Charlie shifted in his arms. He had left her a note but yes, he was glad she was with Ella.

"Miss Decker" Gabriel started, stepping forward. "If Michael is still out there, if Raphael does not find him, and if he genuinely doesn't know where Eve is she may still attempt contact. I think it may be best if we stay here with you."

"No", Chloe replied firmly sliding out of Lucifer's arms and going across to his brother. "I will be fine with Lucifer. Amenediel, go home to Linda. She'll be half way back now". He nodded at her, receiving a kiss to his cheek and Charlie a gentle brush of his hair as she smiled at his sleeping face. "Gabriel...thank you" Chloe continued, taking up the angel's hands and kissing him on the cheek too. The angel was stunned at her affection. How Lucifer of all people had managed to ensnare such a pure soul but he accepted her bidding and Chloe and her devil were left alone.

"Come on sleepy head" he said, her still clinging to him with her arms wrapped around his waist as he walked around the house checking doors, locking windows and switching off lights.

"Luce.." she offered. This time he didn't twitch at the use of Eve's nickname. "I am so tired". It had hit her like brick wall in the warmth of the house and his grasp. She felt like a dead weight. He bent down and lifted her up, his arms clasped around the back of her thighs. If she had leant forward she would be in a fireman's lift; instead she was sort of slumped with her elbows on his shoulders; his face rammed into her chest. "Will you stay here tonight?" she asked, still just about aware enough to duck when he passed through the doorframe into her bedroom as he did his best to see where they were going.

"I've no intention of going on anywhere" he replied, voice muffled. "You will find me awake all night in the sitting room keeping watch".

"No..." she moaned, barely awake. "I meant..." Chloe let out a little 'oof' sound as she was dropped onto the bed. Vaguely she tapped the duvet before she sat up. "Here with me."

"Your offer tempts the Devil but not tonight" he said, taking off her shoes and placing them down by the side of the bed. He saw her flex her ankles. "Why do you women walk around in these things. They are inhuman..."

"Why do you think? For you men. That's why" she mumbled still managing to drum up a spot of sarcasm, feeling the sudden lack of pressure and relief on her ankles.

"Oh yeah..." Lucifer laughed, remembering his reaction to seeing her first tonight. "I'll lock your windows. Michael doesn't have that skill unlikely yours truly. He has to break in or be asked, same with Eve. Lift".

She lifted her hips and her pantyhose and knickers came off in one. "I don't know" Lucifer huffed good naturedly. "I travel all this way to be a nursemaid... " He slid a pair of granny pants on her and reached behind her to unzip her dress, pulling it off her as she unconsciously slipped her own arms around her chest. It wasn't like she was sitting there with her top half uncovered as she was still wearing her bra but nevertheless she felt exposed. A long t shirt was pulled over her head and arms. It did not occur to ask how he knew where her underwear drawer was. "Right" he said brushing down his shirt. "That's you sorted. Go to sleep. I will go and get you drugs and water..."

"Luce? Come here" she whispered, biting back a quip about the 'drugs'. He was half way to the door. "Sit down". Her voice was slurred but she sat up leaning across to place her palms on his cheeks. "Thank you for looking after Trix for me. I know you won't have enjoyed it."

"Your offspring is very pleasant company, Detective" Lucifer offered genuinely. "It was my brothers arriving that put somewhat of a dampener on it, but you wanted help, so I helped". It was as simple as that as far as he was concerned.

She smiled sleepily and leant across. The kiss was unhurried, her snaking her tongue across his lips. "Chloe..." he finally said, breaking his contact with her. "Bedtime. Without me". He kissed her on the forehead. "Go to sleep otherwise you might regret it tomorrow..."

Hours later, Lucifer had taken a quick tour of outside, in an effort to break up the monotony of messing on the internet at some strange time of the night. The chill LA darkness had awakened his senses and as he closed the back door to the yard, he saw Chloe sitting bolt upright on the couch.

"Detective?" he offered very, very carefully. She seemed to be staring into space and he walked across making sure his shoes made noise on the wooden floor so she knew he was there. He knelt down in front of her on the carpet. Her hair was all over the place, the curls flattened and messy. What concerned him more was that her eyes were blank. "Chloe?" he asked, gently placing a palm on her bare knee. He hadn't heard her moving about, certainly not heard any sounds of a nightmare and she had certainly not shouted for him. "Chloe?" Lucifer said more firmly this time as her hand crept across to take the one that was on her knee. "Talk to me". His words seemed to disappear into the ether. "Chloe, if you can hear me, do something. Squeeze my hand. _Please_". He felt a slight twitch of her fingers and he took a deep breath, having no idea what to do. Wait? Shock her out of it? The logical part of his mind knew what Linda would say – wait. He squeezed her hand again and after far too many seconds passed, he saw her blink and focus on his face.

"Lucifer..?" Her voice sounded confused. "Did I...?"

He breathed out in relief. "Yes but I'm here".

"Before I punched Michael..." Chloe started, knowing she needed to get this off her chest. She saw him nod. "Well he...he tried to kiss me; feel me up".

"What?" His voice was laced with venom, ready to spring up. "Where did he touch you?" Lucifer asked. Chloe tapped her left collarbone with her free hand, running her fingers towards her own throat, before it ran to the cleft of her breasts and rested on the side of her thigh. "Anywhere else?" he asked, an ominous timbre to his voice that sent shivers of the entirely negative kind through the woman before him.

She shook her head. "I thought he was you – you look so alike - but then I realised it wasn't. Before, before I touched him I realised it wasn't you and I am so sorry..." With that she was firmly back in the room but burst into tears. "It was the heavy cologne you wear", she spluttered. He hadn't changed it from the day he purchased it. "When he was close enough, I knew it wasn't you".

"Bloody..." Lucifer replied, kneeling up closer to her and pulling her into his arms. "I'll kill the...why are you sorry?" He sounded aghast that his brother's unwelcome attentions might be her fault. "You didn't invite him I am sure of that".

"He apologised to me" Chloe responded, feeling his palm flat on the back of her head as he kept a tight hold as she grabbed on his waistcoat.

"Sorry means nothing when he shouldn't have done it in the first place. No man should" he stated.

She could feel he was boiling. "He said he liked us humans." She shivered, remembering the tone of voice. "Said that that we smelled nice and wore pretty things".

"Maybe you were right then, but that is no excuse" Lucifer pondered, remember her thoughts from days ago as why his brother may have become infected with the excesses and distractions of earthly life. He withdrew from his hold, kissing her collar bone, following the track of where she had touched, claiming her back. "Mine, not his. Not on the earth plane or otherwise. Not your fault".

Chloe closed her eyes as she felt is breath on her skin, his chin just nudging the 'v' of the top she was wearing. "Come to bed please". She felt him shake his head before he straightened up. "You can't stay awake all night, Lucifer it's almost four am. An hour or two of sleep, even just lying down won't do you any harm". She also had to go to work in a few hours to see the Lieutenant about sick leave and it would do her no good turning up looking like a bedraggled wreck.

"Alright" Lucifer conceded. He had tried lying down on this settee but he was far too tall for it. On his way though he checked the doors again, just to make sure they were alone. Him undressing, they crept into bed again, careful of Trixie; him at her back one arm under neck, the other around her waist and settled down.

(**)

Just Chloe's eyes were closing, he shifted uncomfortably. "Lucifer..." Her voice was full of warning.

"I can't help it. It's like a reflex around you", he replied, a kiss to the back of her head.

"This is like the first time" Chloe muttered. They had barely moved that night from where they had lay spooned together. She had been pulled to him tight against his body that night, just like now; not looking at each as this was not about that. In fact she was fairly sure he had not kissed her then until it was over. His palm drifted down her front in an almost repetition too and as minutes rolled past, the t-shirt shifted up around her waist, he pushed inside her from behind just as he had that night too. His movements were slow, languid, her pressing her lips into the inside of the arm that was around her neck in an effort to dull any noise she was making. He was whispering into her hair again. This time she could pick out odd words he was saying but it was a language she did not understand.

"Lucifer?" she breathed vaguely aware between sleep and building arousal. "What...what are you saying to me?"

She heard him swallow; the lazy, deep movements of his hips not stopping. "It's worship, a prayer. Worshipping you..."

Chloe wanted to cry with joy. She shifted a little to try and turn to look at him, but the way she moved as she tipped her hips forward, he suddenly hit a sweet spot sending her on a wave of pleasure that well and truly woke her up, shifting her from 0 - 60 in seconds. "Oh, _shit..._Luce. Stay there..." She felt a rumble of a laugh against her back. "Just...oh..." He could feel her body twitching around him as it almost tried to force him out of her as she crept closer and closer and he was not far behind.

The prayer became clearer as he brought his voice up, but she would have to ask him another day what it meant. She could not concentrate on anything more than the anticipation; her palms wrapping around his arm across her, any noise still deliberately muffled with the child in the house. "That's it, that's it...just... " she panted in an almost mantra, vaguely hearing an 'oh fuck' as clear as day in the midst of this other worldly prayer as her body clamped around him pulsing away.

Three swift thrusts from him and he followed her; her body pulling life from the deepest recesses of his insides. She heard him breathe another obscenity into her hair before both bodies relaxed.

(**)

Neither of them immediately saw the figure at the window watching them wrapped up in each other's arms. Chloe dismissing the shadow that she thought she saw as a figment of the pre-dawn light.

They fell asleep for a few precious moments of rest and the figure slipped away.


	28. Chapter 28

Dan was not sure what to think.

Chloe was not meant to be in work today and as he watched from the other side of the lab door, she was sitting in the Lieutenant's office. He sighed. He wished he could do more for her, truly wished he could. Despite the divorce he still felt an affection for her that he was fairly sure would never go away even if they still argued even now. This deterioration he had seen in her this past year, physically, mentally had left him at a loss. He knew what it was like to lose someone you were close to although part of him prayed that his ex-wife was not as close to Lucifer than the flashy club-owner wanted her to be. Not as close as he and Charlotte had been at least. He sighed and rubbed his fingertips over his eyes. He knew her better than to get involved with Lucifer Morningstar but ever since he left she had _changed; _some of the determination and fight that one day not so long ago he loved had left her.

Trixie had already texted him that she was going out to the beach with Amenediel and Charlie so it seems that Chloe had decided to come into work, instead of just resting on a Saturday. He looked closer. Was she crying again? Dan squinted as he saw her through the perspex wall draw her palms across her face, nodding and eventually smiling. She was also passed what looked like a file.

So concerned, he didn't see Ella come into the lab, but he did hear her screech when she realised she had an intruder. "Jeez man!" she half-shouted, hand over her heart as the lab lights burst into life. "Creeping around with the lights off!"

"Sorry" he replied. He wore a contrite look that made Ella's heart melt as she dumped her bag on the table in the centre of the room.

"Whatcha watching?" she asked, walking over to him and planting a kiss on his cheek, sliding her hand into the crook of his elbow. He pointed towards the Lieutenant's office and his ex-wife. "You know its not cool to stalk your exes right?" Ella teased, seeing the look on his face as he studied the sight before him.

"Have you spoken to her today?" Dan asked, his voice deadly serious against the joke. Ella nodded in the affirmative standing up on tip toes so she could see better. If text messages counted as 'speaking' then she had spoken to Chloe quite a bit these last few days. "Do you know what she doing in with the boss?" Dan asked, still watching, frowning.

"Sick leave" she responded, half distracted as she was watching Chloe's face too, seeing a long begotten smile on her face at something that Rogers had said. It looked as though she was listening intently to the Lieutenant now as papers were handed back and forth, nodding her head, taking in information over something or other.

"Sick leave?" Dan repeated. Silently, if that was indeed the case, he was pleased she was going to have some time off and to rest her mind and body. Spend some time with Trix, go the beach, shopping, just relax for a while instead of working herself into the ground. Give herself a break.

"Yeah" Ella continued, withdrawing from him to walk over to fire up her computer. "For her operation" she added casually, not thinking.

"Operation?" Dan asked, spinning around, more interested now in what Ella had to say rather than Chloe's conversation in the other room.

Ella stopped still, hand half way to her keyboard to tap in her log in and she felt her heart jump in her chest. "Sh..." she started, checking herself as her mind raced at firmly putting her foot in it. "Oh, sugar", she muttered to herself before she turned around to face him. Dan wore a very confused face. Ella thought he knew and she was in too deep to backtrack on the hole she was digging herself. "Look, Dan, she needs to tell you from her own mouth".

"She hasn't told me before about whatever it is" Dan replied, voice probably too sharp as he took up a seat at the table. "Why should she start telling me now?"

Ella's shoulders dropped and decided that she had to carry on. "She had a fall, Dan. That night we all went out to Lux. She needs an operation on her hip". Ella put her hands up in the air. "That's all I know". It wasn't, it was selective, but the last thing she wanted to do was get into a discussion about Lucifer with the one man he never truly got on with and, perhaps worse, that Chloe had been to Lux. That would only bring much more to her friend's door that Ella felt that Chloe could handle right now and would send Dan off in a rage.

Dan exhaled loudly. "And she couldn't tell me? What about Trix?"

"As far as I know Amenediel and Linda are having her. It's closer for school" Ella paused and walked across. She placed her hands on his in an attempt to calm and divert him. "Don't be angry with her. You know she is having a hard time of it lately."

"Yeah, because of that jerk that ran out on her, on all of us and she is trusting his_ brother_ with our daughter?" Dan replied, shifting in his seat as he saw the woman's face drop. "Seems it's escaped her notice that I'm Trixie's father and should know where she is, is that it?"

"It won't have done" Ella replied, trying to sooth the situation she had single handedly created. "But you are working. Amenedial and Linda can be far more flexible with her. That's why Chloe would have asked - nothing to do with it being deliberate to hurt you. She's not like that as you well know".

"She still should have told me" Dan protested, even though he knew Ella was quite right.

"She might still do", Ella responded quickly, only because she saw Chloe approach the lab door ready walk in. "Now she knows she can get the leave".

"Hi Dan..." Chloe said, seeing the strange look on her ex-husband's face as she smiled too at Ella. An incredibly thick and deeply awkward silence descended as Chloe hovered by the open door, hand gripping the handle, wondering if she had walked straight into a domestic.

"So what gives?" Ella asked, clearing her throat and seeing the large brown envelope now accompanied by the blue file in Chloe's arms as she stepped back away.

"Rogers wants me out there with you" Chloe offered, gesturing with the file and still looking at her ex-husband with a level of confusion at the stern expression on his face. Yep, she had walked straight into an argument between the lovers it seemed and she wanted out of there quick, even if it was to a freshly found body when she should be at the beach.

"What is it?" Ella asked, picking up all her tools of the trade and sliding her cell into her back pocket.

"A dead body in a cemetery" Chloe responded, eyes glancing again at a very silent Dan. "Who'd a thunk it?! A dead body in a cemetery?!" Ella laughed at the sliver of sense of humour that was still there and they were ready to go until...

"Wait" Dan suddenly said turning his seat, determined to have this out with her before it decided to consume him. "Chlo...Aren't you meant to be off shift today?"

"Yeah" Chloe replied, clearly sounding ever so slightly exasperated. "Brody's off sick though. Bust his ankle on a hike with his kids yesterday". She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I was in the wrong place at the wrong time". Before Dan could ask or say anything more the women were off.

The dead body in the cemetary, whilst Chloe had joked about it, was far more of a waking nightmare than the two women expected. _Two_ disturbed graves; _two_ bodies – not one - barely beneath the surface found by two beyond distressed families that had come to mourn a grandmother and a husband respectively on a quiet Saturday morning. Chloe spoke to the families, talking through tears, carefully as Ella made a preliminary assessment, calling her over when she had considered them both. "Well?" Chloe asked, the two bodies being zipped swiftly into body bags behind them. The families had not been very much by way of help but realistically Chloe didn't expect them to be.

"One male, one female" Ella began, briefly looking at the notes she had taken. "Both in late 50s, early 60s tops. Buried once, dug up, buried a second time, soil samples different on the skin, no wounds suggesting force was used, yada yada yada. You know the drill Lady. Perfectly normal for your average sunny Saturday morning!".

"What?!" she replied. In a fleeting moment, Chloe doubted very much that this one ultimately was one for Homicide as Ella's outlandish words barely registered.

"I'd say rate of decomposition, you know the old rotting process, be about a year, maybe a week or two either side and someone has brought them here to rebury. Now they've done whatever they needed to be done with them..." Ella responded, feeling her cell buzz in her pocket.

"Body snatchers?" The thought turned Chloe cold as Ella read her message. "Experiments?" Did LA have its own Burke and Hare? Please, no.

Ella sighed and shrugged. "This is LA. Could be one, both, someone with a bit of a kink, who knows?". She paused. "Speaking of rotten flesh" she said, seeing the colour start to drain slowly from the Detective's face at the prospect of what they were both facing, "got an email that there's been a breakthrough on identifying that boy in the warehouse. Dead a year ago too". Ella noticed Chloe's face twitch now as she shoved the cell back into her pocket. "See any similarities? Bodies that looked like they had been dead for some time, suddenly reappearing over LA".

"Yeah", Chloe sighed, watching as the two body bags were loaded into the Coroner's van. "I do. Unfortunately..."

"Give me ten minutes" Ella responded squeezing Chloe's arm and hearing another officer shout her name, "will be done and we can get back and think".

Ten minutes had turned to twenty and an hour later they were back at the Station heading towards the lab. They were about to enter when Chloe, for only a moment, felt dizzy; a cold sweat breaking out over her skin and a churning in her stomach that threatened to engulf her. "Just need to..." Chloe gestured towards the corridor that at the end housed the station toilets. She had had an episode like this just earlier on this morning, making Trixie's breakfast. It was an event she had thankfully been able to hide from her inquisitive daughter as it only lasted a split second but still. She hadn't eaten herself since last night. Maybe that was just it. Low blood sugars and that. Her first instinct though was to hide herself away and run.

"Cool man. I'll go get us caffeine" Ella noted seeing Chloe's fast retreating form, thinking it was just nature calling so at that she was not too concerned as they parted company.

Chloe reached the stalls, happy that they were empty. She closed the door behind her and bracing her palms on the back of the door breathed in and out carefully. _Rotten decomposed bodies of people dead for a year._ Please no, not that. She thought the demon uprising in the Mayan had been truly, and literally, buried under the carpet months ago, even if hadn't already sent her paranoid for weeks on end that they were going to find out and the Devil did actually walk the streets amongst them. Chloe breathed in and out again; Linda's exercises only helping a touch as the panic attack that was brewing threatened to overcome her. Maybe she was being paranoid now? Maybe her overactive imagination was running into overdrive thinking it was connected when it wasn't? "Not this, not now" she whispered to herself remembering the headlines...

_"__Cult suicide! Fifty bodies found in Mayan Nightclub"_

_"__Mass suicide! Nightclub find!"_

_"__Secret Cult on the streets of LA! Are you safe?"_

_"TV Psychic Investigates the Mayan!"_

The papers were everywhere trying to scrabble for information that was so secret that it didn't exist. One of the greatest cover-ups in LAPD history and she thought it was gone; buried so deep that it was consigned to the past. Chloe closed her eyes and slumped sideways against the partition wall, hitting her marred hip. She gasped in pain, it sending a wave of nausea through her body as she breathed, remembering somewhere in the recesses of her brain the exercises she was taught for labour with Trixie. See if they work instead. Chloe squeezed her eyes shut as the room started spinning, trying to force down that lurching of her stomach as the pain refused to subside. Sitting in traffic this morning, the pain had increased but she had put it down to all the walking in stupid shoes last night or the barely there gymnastics of their encounter. In truth she hadn't exactly been honest with Lucifer about how much pain she was actually in and Chloe was regretting it now; even if she did see it as her punishment for her betrayal. She felt as though her whole body was swirling around, twisting around and about to fall no matter how sturdy the door was, she felt as though she was going to faint.

After too many long minutes Ella shot down to the bathroom to chivvy Chloe up. Her coffee was getting cold and the forensic scientist was worried. Opening the door she clearly heard the sound of someone retching and being sick.

"Decker?" she asked, seeing only one closed cubicle door. A cough and silence greeted her as Ella leant against the door of the only occupied stall. The detective inside could see the bright green pair of Chucks on Ella's feet underneath the door. "Chloe, you okay in there girl?"

"Yeah" Chloe replied, flushing the toilet as Ella felt the reverberations of the lock clunking free.

"Hungover?" Ella laughed as she walked past. She didn't feel particularly awesome after last night's alcohol consumption either but the Detective suddenly looked awful. She could see tiny petechiae on Chloe's cheek bones and around her eyes from her vomiting, she assumed.

"No" Chloe replied, turning on the tap and filling her hands with water so she could wash her mouth out. "I felt fine before I got in here. Must be a delayed reaction from seeing those bodies". In essence that was not a lie. Ella gently rubbed between her friend's shoulder blades as the other woman lent over the sink. "I just feel sick and tired and, ugh, like I could sleep for a week". It actually felt more than 'tired'. Deep inside her bones felt like they were aching.

"Can I ask a question?" Ella enquired, wondering if was about to cross a line.

"I'm not pregnant" Chloe's voice was blunt and Ella took the hint. "I just don't feel too good. Hip is a bit sore you know". There she goes again, underplaying it. There was something different about the pain today and the Detective knew that she should have listened to Lucifer.

"Okay man I'm sorry" Ella began, her voice soft rubbing Chloe's back again to comfort her. "It's just you two dudes are magic together, even when you weren't, you know...entertaining the beast with two backs...bumping uglies... " She heard Chloe laugh and saw an exhausted nod. "Come on let's go and sit it the lab until you feel better. Rogers can wait to hear about our bodies. They ain't going anywhere soon!".

They retreated there and Chloe sat the main desk in the middle of the floor where Dan had been sitting before. The man himself had been called out to a job only a few minutes after the women had left for the cemetery. Chloe tried to focus as she brushed her fingers through her hair, tying it up again from where strands had fallen. It did not help that there were pictures of rotting corpses surrounding her and her hip had taken on a dull throb. She needed to hear the smooth calming tones of Lucifer's voice, see him bounding through the door only to her. She needed the kind of hug that only the warmth of the Devil could provide. "Did you say you had ID on that boy?" Chloe asked, desperate to distract herself from the panic attack that she seemed to have narrowly avoided and the thoughts of the man himself.

"Yeah", Ella replied, pulling up the email on her computer. "Christopher John James Carter, known as JJ, aged 17, lived Pasedena...when he died fourteen months ago that was".

_"Dead 2 months tops at the time of the Mayan" Chloe thought._

"Cause of death?" Chloe asked apprehensively. From Ella's face, it was clearly something natural.

"Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia" Ella replied, pulling up an electronic copy of the death certificate. "Aggressive blood cancer to the rest of us mere mortals, but no, not a victim of the old el homicido. Buried at Inglewood Park but no reports of disturbed graves that can be found".

"Shit" Chloe replied bluntly.

"Yeah, agree with you on that one Decker. Shit indeed", Ella responded, tapping her keyboard again with one hand and taking a sip of coffee with the other.

Chloe closed her eyes and rested them behind her palms as she leant on the table, letting out a huffing sound as the room began to spin again even in her self imposed darkness. "I'm not even meant to be in today. I could be at the beach with Amenediel and the kids", she whined. "Sitting in the sun instead of speculating over..." She shook her head, no energy to even complete her sentence.

"You can still go Chlo. It's your day off after all..." Ella offered, knowing how close she and Lucifer's brother had become this past year but still not entirely understanding why it was only Lucifer that had to return home for 'family problems'. "Rogers will just have to..." Her words died in her throat, Ella just about managing to catch her before Chloe slid off the seat and hit the floor.

Dan had been well gone from the station by the time the ambulance arrived and his cell had gone unanswered. Ella had also tried to phone Lucifer's old number wondering if he even still had that phone. Either way she had left a message that she hoped was not too alarming even though her heart had been racing and her voice shaking as the paramedics worked on her friend. Amenediel however had answered within three rings and was presently walking towards Ella as she sat jittery in the public waiting room of the ER.

"What have they said?" Amenediel asked as he slipped into a seat next to her, arriving alone. It was probably not a good idea that Trixie was with him.

"Nothing recently" Ella replied, moving Chloe's bullet necklace from one hand to the other. They had given it her for safekeeping when Chloe was admitted. "Have you spoken to Lucifer?". She kind of assumed that his brother knew he was back and moreso that he and Chloe were together.

"Tried him" he responded; thinking Lucifer was probably just ignoring his messages bearing in mind that the brothers were not precisely on the best of terms. "Nothing yet. What's that?" he asked, seeing the glint of the gold of the necklace chain under the harsh artificial white light of the ER.

"Chloe's necklace. Don't know what it was in a former life cos I ain't seen a pendant like that in the past but yeah...they asked me to keep it for her", Ella sighed as someone, not Chloe, was wheeled through a door ahead of them, the doors swinging shut behind the trolley. "They said they would come and tell me whats going on ten minutes ago". She was getting agitated again but pleased she had the strength of Amenediel with her. All of a sudden she heard her name. "Miss Lopez?"

"That's me!" Ella replied, jumping up as she met the woman in a white coat who was walking towards her. Amenediel followed her.

"Are you relatives of Miss Decker?" the Doctor asked, glancing between the two people.

"No I work with her. I was with her when she collapsed" Ella responded as the woman turned her attentions to the man beside her.

Amenediel thought quickly. They had to get in to see Chloe any way they could. "I'm sort of related" he replied with a wide and hopefully convincing smile. "Well she's my brother's long term partner, you know? I've been trying to get hold of him but I can't seem to get to him. He'll be at work..." Just normalise, man, just normalise and they won't see through you.

"Well as you are the best we have for next of kin, she is awake now and she is being transferred to St Augustines", the doctor replied. "I would suggest you use your best endeavours to find your brother so that we can update him as to Miss Decker's condition and discuss her treatment with him... Mr?"

"Martin" Amenediel replied "Mr Martin". Linda's name was the first one that came to his mind but it did the trick.

"Can we see her?" Ella asked keenly, the reference to the transfer to another Hospital passing her by for now.

"Five minutes only, no more" the doctor warned. "Now she is stabilised enough to be moved, you can have a few moments."

Ella and Amenediel followed the woman down the corrider to a room at the end throwing glances at each other, both feeling that they were about to be kicked out for manipulating the truth. They were shown in to find Chloe propped up in bed, a drip in one hand and her cell on her lap. She looked greyer under the eyes than the two had ever seen her before, tiny, small, more fragile than ever under those pristine white sheets.

"How did you get in here?" Chloe asked, as Ella went to hug her tight, careful of the cannula in the back of the Detective's hand. Her voice sounded slightly slurred.

"I said we were related" Amenediel confessed sure the door was closed behind them and leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Well sort of"

"Angels don't lie" Chloe noted, as much sparkle in her eyes that she could muster up at his guilty smile. She was pleased though they were there for her and Ella had stayed with her.

"Luci doesn't" Amenediel smiled. "Besides I said partner. That's not a lie. It was not my fault the doctor took it the wrong way..." The three smiled conspiratorially at each other as the angel shrugged his shoulders. "I'll call Linda - she has Trixie. We can take her as planned for as long as you need it for."

"Thank you" Chloe smiled too before her forehead creased into another frown. "Can you tell her what's happened? She knows about the operation. Apparently I've got blood poisoning so they need to do it".

"I will...we couldn't get through to Lucifer though" Ella interjected, worried and concerned. "Or Dan, but he was called out on a job so he might be distracted".

"He knows already...Luce... Lucifer knows" Chloe replied picking up her phone. "I've spoken to him. It's him that's arranged the transfer to the other hospital. To a doctor he knows". Chloe did not have the strength to fight him on this one as he was right and really now did not care any more, she felt that weak and moreso spaced out from the painkillers she had been given. They all heard the door open and the scratch of shoes just inside. All three looked towards two men in navy blue uniforms.

"Dr Fraser will meet you up at the Hospital, Miss Decker" one, with a name tag 'Peter', said. "If you are ready to go?"

"I'll keep trying that brother of mine for you, Chloe", Amenediel smiled as he winked at her just in case anyone overheard and questioned their relationship. He could see that Chloe had caught on.

"Thank you and you Ella". Chloe reached across and squeezed her friend's hand feeling her passing her the necklace as quietly as she could. Chloe's had not even noticed that it had gone but it's presence calmed her immediately

"No problemo" Ella replied, a wheelchair being rolled in now. A nurse was a few paces behind ready to get Chloe out of bed. "We'll let Rogers know and don't worry about your girl. She'll be just fine" Ella continued, wanting to reassure that at least something in her friend's life was stable.

Chloe was grateful as the two were shunted out of the room to give her some privacy and to start her journey.


	29. Chapter 29

Chloe woke vaguely, wondering why her head was thumping, blood pulsing behind her eyes, a rhythmical beat that reverberated through every cell in her body. She hadn't had a drink last night and what was that _smell_? Half-asleep she tried to flex her neck, sinking slightly further into the pillows, still unsure whether she was dreaming or hung-over. Her body felt weighted down with lead. Had she taken one of those sleeping pills that had been in her bedside drawer for years that Mom had given her when she and Dan first split? Surely not? No, she had thrown them out long ago for fear of little hands thinking the pink pills were candy.

Eyes blurry, she opened them, blinking, realising the smell was disinfectant and that headache was anaesthetic. The smell almost made her gag as the strip lights above her pierced her vision. Carefully Chloe moved her head again, senses starting to work their way back to the surface. She had pins and needles in her right hand, trying to move it but it was heavy and dead. Her left hand had a drip jammed into it and the large bore orange cannula _hurt. _It was different to the one from before.

Chloe looked down, neck sore from where she had been laying twisted and all she saw was the top of a head of dark black curls. Her heart flipped in her chest. How long had he been here waiting for her to wake up? "Lucifer?" she whispered. He was asleep on her hand – hence thankfully explaining the numbness, rather than the fleeting thoughts that she had perhaps had a stroke because that was the way her mind worked these days. He was facing to the foot of the bed. "Lucifer?" she said again, trying move her arm and succeeding slightly as he shifted and nuzzled her fingers.

He sat up quickly, brushing his palm over his face. He looked like he had been dragged through a hedge backwards, hair curly and askew and a red creased patch on his cheek from where he had been leaning on the contours of her knuckles. "Hello..." he muttered, running his hand over his face again.

"Hi!" she smiled, realising her throat was sore too. "Did it go okay?"

"The operation went fine" Lucifer reported, pleased she was awake. He must have been so deeply asleep though in such an uncomfortable position. "Simon said he wanted me to get him down here when you woke up. I'll fetch him".

Chloe nodded. The more she looked, he actually looked _wrecked_. She wasn't used to see him like this in what might be called a dishevelled state. She took up his hand again, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles. Chloe swallowed. Her throat felt like sandpaper. "Can you get me a drink first?"

"I will" Lucifer replied, standing up even though he was still half-asleep, the chair legs scraping along the floor as he stood up, looking to the plastic jug of water that was on the bedside table. "That stuffs not very fresh. I'll get some more and I'll see if he will come down too."

"Can you pass me my phone as well? I want to speak to Trix" she asked, trying and failing to suppress a yawn but knowing her little girl would probably be worried.

"The urchin and I have already talked quite extensively. She is fully appraised of the situation" he offered, only seeing her confused look. Lucifer handed her his phone and Chloe saw the long text conversation with Trixie conductedly entirely in emojis. It looked as though it stopped about an hour ago. That must have been when she came out of surgery; or he fell asleep.

She could see a blonde woman, presumably her and a red cross, which she assumed meant 'hospital' but as for the rest, her addled brain refused to compute them. She did see the conversation littered with various coloured hearts and her own mind decided what they meant between her daughter and well, her boyfriend? "Do I want to know what all this means?" Chloe asked, smiling as she scrolled through even more images.

"No, but I suggest you tell her in plain English that you are awake". He leant down, sliding is palm around her face, thumb caressing her cheekbone. Chloe leant into the comforting warmth, licking her dry, cracked lips. "Won't be long with my services. One drink coming up!", he said, pressing an open mouthed kiss to her forehead and the cell more firmly into her hand. Lucifer wandered out stretching and cracking his neck from the position he had been sleeping in only to find the Doctor was busy. Maybe he would take a walk first, get some fresh air in the grounds, clear his head and then go back. Only a few yards to his left, around the corner as he exited the building, Lucifer did not see the other man who was standing at reception, agitated and annoyed.

"Could I have your name Sir?" the more than middle aged woman asked. She sounded bored with him; bored with life.

"Daniel Espinoza", Dan replied, his voice terse as he leant on the reception desk, 'casually' moving his jacket to one side to reveal the badge that said he was LAPD. "Like I said the first time".

"And you are a relative? Friend of the patient?" she questioned, barely unable to contain her complete lack of interest in why he was obviously trying to force his way onto her. She was old enough to be his mother just about and if he thought a piddling little piece of metal and leather could intimidate her into submission then he was very sadly mistaken.

"Erm...ex-husband" he confessed.

"Right" the woman replied slowly, eyeing him up as she pulled up a computer record of the Chloe Decker he was asking about. "You aren't on her visitor list". In fact there were only two people on it - a Mr Morningstar and a _Beatrice_ Espinoza - and neither were this man. She had seen Mr Morningstar and well, if she was 20 years younger...

"If you don't mind asking _Lynn_" Dan started, reading her name badge. "It is important I speak to her. About our daughter".

The woman looked at him exasperated. Today was testing her patience, _he_ was testing her patience but before she could respond, a voice shouted from another room. "Hey Lynn!" the disembodied voice said to his right, clearly directed at the woman on reception. "Can you give me hand moving these chairs?" She got up, shooting him a 'don't you dare move' look. Dan took his opportunity and leant over the desk to see Chloe's record and most importantly her room number. Room 164 should be easy to find.

Outside, Lucifer leant on a wall, and took a drag of the first cigarette he had smoked in far too long as he waited. Five minutes fresh air and he would be back with Chloe but he just needed a moment of peace now he knew she was safely through the surgery. What he didn't expect was full on body check hug from Ella. He had not noticed her walk up, but she had spotted him as she almost ran up the path towards the Hospital.

"Lucifer! Chloe said you were back! Aw man! So glad to see you!" she squealed, holding on tight. Again, he hesitated before patting her gently on the back with one hand, the other holding the cigarette out to one side for fear of burning her. He needed to get used to this 'affection' business. Urchins and forensic scientists seem to rather enjoy throwing out hugs to him.

"Miss Lopez!" he exclaimed, throwing down and stubbing his cigarette out on the concrete. "It is rather good to see you too!"

"You know" she started, still holding him around the waist but let him go sufficiently well so she could look him in the eye. "I was all ready to yell at you when I saw you!"

"Whatever for?!" Lucifer asked. On reflection it was a very stupid question although he was just this side of pleased and relieved that she had reacted in the only way that Ella tended to so. With acceptance.

"For leaving Decker, for leaving all of us but I figured that wouldn't help and Chloe did say it was for a very good reason with your family that you just upped and left even if she..." she trailed off realising she had probably said too much. "Forgiveness is the order of the day! Aw Lucifer!" With that was another bone crushing hug as she grabbed him around the waist again, her cheek pressed into his sternum.

"Are you coming in? She's awake. Chloe won't mind" he offered, assuming Ella knew all about the surgery, seeing the strange look they were getting from two uniformed members of staff who had casually walked by and this one-sided affection that was being offered.

"She might" Ella warned as she released him, her voice and face tell him the whole story. "I'm waiting for Dan..."

"Oh bloody hell" Lucifer sighed, eyes raising skywards. What now? The Douche been spying on her? "He's in there is he? Come on Miss Lopez..." He grabbed her by the hand and propelled her into the hospital, only just remembering Chloe's fresh drink at the last minute as they barrelled down the corridor together.

Chloe's eyes had begun to shut again almost the second she had hung up with Trixie and by chance Amenediel who had reassured her that all was well and there was nothing, absolutely nothing to worry about. He had asked where Lucifer was as well and Chloe simply told him the truth that he was here with her. She was uncomfortable, head throbbing, a dull burning in her hip but it was the cannula in her hand that was the worst. Carefully she twisted, eyes barely open to see a drip pumping a drug of some kind into her. A PCA lay on the bed beside her but she didn't need it quite yet. Squinting at the clock, this was the longest she had slept in a fair amount of time even if it was anaesthetic induced and she could easily go another few hours yet. She was about to succumb when the door opened and Chloe turned her head, thinking Lucifer awful quick when she was faced with her ex-husband. "Dan!"

"Chloe..." he replied, shutting the door behind himself, careful that he had not been followed by that long faced receptionist and taking in the vastness of the hospital room before him. Yes he could see why this was the most expensive Hospital in LA and it concerned him even more how she found herself in here.

"What..." she started, trying to sit up but failing and sliding back into the pillows. "What are you doing here?"

"Seeing you" he replied, sitting down, "and finding out why you are in Hospital and didn't tell me". He almost saw her heart sink and Chloe closed her eyes. She did not need this now, not ever and for that how did he get past Reception?

"Dan, I collapsed" Chloe responded flatly pushing down an insecure laugh. "I could hardly call you and warn you first...!"

"That's not what I meant" he warned, looking her over in a blue checked hospital gown. "I mean the accident and the operation. You kept it from me. A secret..."

"Oh" Chloe replied trying to keep her voice light even though she could see the hurt in his face and stab of guilt pierced her chest. "How did you find out?" she asked nervously. She did not need her ear bent by him now or at all as it was bound to end up in a row however carefully she stepped. Chloe sent up a silent thought in the hope that if you could pray to angels you could pray to the Devil and he would appear. She needed his support more than ever. She and Dan were _divorced_ for Dad's sake and, yes, they were friends for Trixie and to some degree for themselves, but he had no call over what she did or what she told him.

"Ella" he confessed. "She thought I knew and I found out from...well, someone else, you were in here".

Chloe sighed, shifting a little again as she felt a pull of the metal clips in her wound as her eyes wandered to the opening door and Lucifer and Ella stepped in. Did that little prayer to the Devil work?! Dan looked up; slowly turning around. "Brilliant..." Lucifer spat, only looking at Chloe to make sure she was not upset. "Good evening to you Douche. Such a pleasure to make your acquaintance once more". Nobody missed the sarcasm. "Miss Lopez is here to pick you up...isn't it time you left?"

Dan watched them, but Lucifer in particular, striding across the hospital room and around the other side of the bed; Chloe's eyes following every inch of him as he moved. Dan's jaw was almost on the floor, as the other man poured some orange juice and helped Chloe drink, carefully lifting her neck with his hand so she could sip from the glass. Ella was lingering, trying not to be touched, nor to smile at the tenderness that she saw in front of her. She had not seen Dan's face but Ella could imagine it. She knew how much the two men pissed each other off and wished they would just quit it.

"I knew it had to be something to do with you" Dan spat, eyes narrowing at the sight before him.

"Oh of course you did, Daniel" Lucifer replied, putting her glass on the bedside table. "Of course you knew your former wife could not make a decision on her own and in her own best interests to get the best medical care she could" he continued, sitting down, flinging one leg over the other in barely disguised annoyance at the Douche's presence. "What is your problem, Daniel? Am I encroaching on something you seem to think you still have to make sure your ex-wife is taken care of?" Lucifer began rearranging Chloe's hair that he had messed up. He was heavy on the words 'former' and 'ex'.

"No the fact she was in a stupidly expensive hospital that I know the insurance that_ I still pay for her and Trixie_ would not cover, for surgery I knew nothing about...!" Dan responded trying to keep his voice low. He felt Ella's hand rest on his shoulders.

"And pray tell", Lucifer began, almost leaning over the bed at him, his voice sounding to Chloe like she imagined a serpent to be. "What interest is it of you to be here? You are not her next of kin. _Your insurance_ isn't paying for it. You have left them in an inadequate position financially so somebody else had to take over". Even as the words left his mouth, he knew Chloe would probably kill him for that.

"She is the mother of my child. That gives me an 'interest'" Dan replied. "What affects her, affects Trix." He paused, not wanting to get into this but the question was going to get asked one way or another. "So am I to assume that as you are here, it is you that is bank rolling her stay?"

"Please be quiet both of you" Chloe interjected. Her voice was ragged, tired and she had no strength for this. If she had the will about her, both of them needed to back it up.

"Yeah come on guys. Chloe's just come out of surgery" Ella offered, squeezing Dan's shoulders. "Not cool to be arguing like this". Lucifer nodded. The other woman was right.

"Chlo... can you and I talk in private?" Dan asked, seeing her flash a glance at Lucifer and give a weary nod to him that she would be alright.

"I will be outside the door" Lucifer warned, leaning down to kiss Chloe, deliberately pulling her bottom lip with his when he withdrew. Her lips were still dry and the kiss felt awkward – at least to her - with Dan standing there as a third wheel and Ella as a fourth, even though she was trying to keep a bubbling excitement inside at seeing them together. Chloe saw Lucifer hold out his arm for Ella to take as she turned to face the sure dressing down she was going to get now she and her ex were in private.

They heard the door click and there were no pleasantries to be had. "I don't get it!" Dan started, pressing the bridge of his nose. "The most exclusive Hospital in LA and sure enough that flash git happens to be here lording it around the place like he owns you. Suddenly turning up after God knows how long...Are you fucking him? Is that why you are here?" Dan asked, ever to the point.

"Dan, don't use that word", Chloe moaned, grimacing. Yeah, there had been the odd 'fuck' if he wanted to term it that way when there had been desperate need between them both to be one, but it felt like _more. _He was hardly parading round like he owned the place either but she knew Dan's reasonableness when it came to Lucifer Morningstar was on a very short rope. _  
_

"Well?" he asked. "I don't believe whatever he gets up to with half of the city could be described as anything else...Is that how you are paying for it? Giving favours?"

Chloe breathed in. "Excuse me?!" she shouted all together too loudly, fury getting away with her for a second as she felt the color rise in her face both in embarrassment and anger. "Are you actually suggesting that I have...slept with him for his money or he somehow...that I've made some kind of deal with the devil?! Jeez Dan". Chloe swiped her right hand over her face in exasperation, not meaning to say that particular phrase but it seemed so apt. Dan would never believe her anyway if she suddenly turned around and said the Satan was sitting next to them two minutes ago. She breathed in. It was no use trying to bend the truth. Dan could always tell she was lying. "But yes, Dan. Lucifer and me...we are together. Properly together...but his money has nothing to do with my decision..."

"Where you before he left, before we were divorced?" he asked.

"No Dan". Chloe was actually a little appalled that he thought that something was going on years ago. "This is very very recent. Days. Since he came back and besides you can hardly speak about extra marital liaisons!" She had vowed never to throw that peroxide fake titted airhead from Glass' Deli at him but it was out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Yes, it was _after_ he had moved out, but that was not the point.

Dan put his head in his hands, elbows leaning on the bed. _ Not this again; it was ill judged one night stand_. _Okay two ill judged_... "I cannot believe you are exposing Trixie to him". It was bad enough that Chloe worked with him so closely and seemed to accept all the insanity that seemed to flow from his mouth on a daily basis.

"She's not stupid" Chloe responded, feeling the throbbing inside her head increase. "She likes him. She's always liked him". _ Longer than I did in fact._

"Chloe...he is the flashiest, more arrogant, pain the ass, egotistical..." There were a thousand words Dan could use to describe Lucifer Morningstar and none of them were particularly complimentary. "Do you think that is good example to show an impressionable 12 year old girl?"

"He's the kindest most generous and gentle person I know. Underneath the shit" she added quickly. "And he isn't like that around Trix".

"It is serious?" It was the last thing Dan needed in his life to have that flash git slobbering all over Chloe, hanging off her like a limpet. What if he wanted to come back and be a 'consultant' again? Work would be intolerable if he was Chloe's partner in every way possible. Can you imagine it?! He'd probably be trying to hump Chloe's leg - and other bits of her - like a rabid overgrown puppy all day.

In truth Chloe had no idea and to be frank, she did not want to think of the future. She just wanted to try and enjoy the now, otherwise she might just start crying again. She was on the verge as it was from exhaustion, pain and the fact that this man infuriated her so much. It was like they were married again, at the end when she knew the death knell had struck for their relationship. It was that last ditch trip to San Francisco all over again. "It might be" she offered. "It might be serious between me and him. I don't know whether it is or it isn't yet".

"If he sticks around, Chlo. Doesn't strike me to be the marrying kind", Dan offered, leaning back in his seat again, shaking his head at the revelation. He thought he knew her better than for her to be blinded by someone like him.

"Dan..." Chloe's voice was full of warning. She had no plans to get married again - to anyone let alone the Devil. One marriage was enough and she was happy to 'live in sin'. How appropriate that it might the Devil that she might just be doing that with, even for a short time. "I feel awful, I feel sick, and my head is banging. I don't need this now. You are not helping me".

He dropped his head. "I'm sorry Chlo, but even that prick Marcus was better for you than him".

"Marcus was not a prick Dan. In the beginning" She was very careful. He had no idea that Marcus Pierce was Cain. "I'm also not stupid either Dan. I can handle him and his ways..."

"I know you are not stupid, but ..." Dan sunk back into his chair. "He is a playboy, takes drugs, drinks like a fish. Are you telling me that he won't run off again when it gets a bit sticky between you or when you get sick of his playing?"

Chloe had no answer to that. She had no idea. He had done it before, why wouldn't he do it now? That, if anything, was the one thing she did not want to address; whether it was a moonlight flit again or something more permanent. What if he did get thoroughly bored by her? She knew there was a lot at stake but was interrupted from her thoughts by a knock on the door. Silently she was relieved when she saw Dr Fraser followed closely by Lucifer, the latter of whom was wearing a scowl to beat all scowls.

"Ah, Miss Decker", Dr Fraser smiled, taking in the presence of the other dark haired man beside the bed. "Now I do have to say you look a lot better than when you came in!"

"Hello, Doctor" Chloe responded, unable to raise a smile with the tension that was now knotted in her chest.

"Simon, this is Miss Decker's ex-husband. He is leaving now", Lucifer interjected before he went to sit back down on the other side of the bed again, taking up Chloe's hand. No, even that didn't unravel that knot. "Miss Lopez I believe is waiting in the car park, Daniel..."

"We will take this up another time", Dan warned. Chloe just nodded in despair before she submitted to blood pressure, temperature and a check of her wound from the Doctor. He pronounced himself rather pleased with its appearance and her observations, even if her temperature was still a little high. His questions to her, however were answered in a way that he was sure that his patient was playing down her pain. Playing down her fears.

"Miss Decker" he began, "I would like to keep you in for a few days. Observe you on an ongoing basis until we get that infection in your blood under control ..." Chloe nodded carefully but did not respond. If he could add in a few days of peace and quiet then that would be most welcome. "Mr Morningstar I wonder if I could have a quiet word outside?"

Lucifer followed the man with smile and wink to Chloe as she settled back in bed, ready to sleep, taking a hit from the PCA as the examination had not helped with her pain levels. Sleep was more important at the moment than whatever they were talking about. She was fairly sure Lucifer would tell her anyway.

"I am grateful Simon, for all of your help" Lucifer offered as soon as they closed the door.

"My pleasure, Mr Morningstar. I erm...Miss Decker, the times I have seen her she has been rather moribund and I fear it may interfere with her recovery. I appreciate it might be breaking a confidence but do you know why she seems to be so low in mood?"

Lucifer sighed, checking the door was completely closed. "She, she some months ago had...well I could call it a quasi-bereavement". He cleared his throat, keeping his voice low as other people walked past. "Someone she was close to went missing".

"Ah" the Doctor replied, nodding his head. "That explains a lot. This person, has he or she been found?"

"Yes" Lucifer replied. "Only recently but yes. He...he turned up again"

Dr Fraser nodded considering the information. "I am pleased Miss Decker has such a good person as you taking care of her, Mr Morningstar". Lucifer gave the man a thin smile hoping he didn't pick up on the irony of his comment. "I will put a full programme in place for aftercare for her once she is discharged. I would suggest that a dietician visit her as well. I would like to see her put on a few pounds before my first outpatients appointment with her. Again I can arrange it". Lucifer nodded in acceptance but he could see there was another question on the doctor's lips. "I erm..." Dr Fraser pulled Lucifer further up to the corridor. "I wonder if you may see your way clear that my debt to you is paid now... now that your girl...your friend is through the surgery".

Lucifer smiled and nodded. "Say hello to Anne for me and I hope one day we can meet in better circumstances". He held out his hand to shake. "Consider your debt well and truly discharged".

He could see the relief wash over the man in front of him. "Thank you Mr Morningstar. _Thank you"._

"My pleasure" Lucifer smiled as they parted company and he headed back towards the Detective's room. He would stay with her until she slept. Maybe then he would take trip to Lux. Just to see the place, you know? See how it was doing. It felt like it was time.

Yes, he'd do that. Just have a proper look around. Can't do any harm can it?


	30. Chapter 30

**Warning for a few strong swears and sexual activity.**

"Maze?"

"Mazey, my sweet, where art thou? Come out, come out wherever you are!" Lucifer sang as he stalked across the floor of Lux, shoes squeaking across the highly polished floor.

The demon in question appeared from underneath the bar; slamming a bottle on to it with such a thud it reverberated around the empty room. "What?" she asked, almost snarling at him.

"And that is a beautiful way to address someone" he replied, sauntering up and leaning against the bar. "Has your time on earth amongst these humans not managed to make you at least be polite to me?"

"What do you want, Lucifer?" she asked again, distracting herself with lists and supplies although for some undefined reason she had already started to pour from the bottle – for him and for her. Maybe it was just a nasty annoying habit she needed to break. He realised, however, that was the best he was going to get. "I thought you were playing nurse maid to your pet detective?"

"I have been..." Lucifer replied. "Well sort of..."

"It's been two weeks since she was discharged. She must be so sick of you by now", Maze responded screwing the lid back on the bottle with an annoyed vigour.

"The good Doctor Martin is with her trying to persuade her not to go back to work yet. I thought it best I leave them to it", he responded as Maze shoved a glass of Whiskey towards him, half spilling it as she launched it down the bar. Lucifer knew that was deliberate but let it fly. Disciplining recalcitrant demons was part of a life he wanted to say goodbye to.

"Have you heard any more from your brothers?" she asked, sidling up and taking a sip from her glass. Maze actually was concerned about the appearance of his siblings. Brute force might get him to go back to Hell and once again he might leave her behind. Nothing good would come of it this time either and the consequences likely worse.

"No nothing". He wasn't bothered that his brothers had gone quiet. He just assumed they were off hunting somewhere. "Has...have you heard anything from Eve?" Lucifer asked. He had been watching his back for her to pop up. Maze might be her obvious port of call, but instead the demon shook her head trying not to reveal a sadness still far too close to the surface. "Mazey, I know you and her well, well had connexion and normally I might not give a proverbial shit any more but she did what she did. The scrap of humanity within me tells me that you might find that difficult to accept".

Maze eyed him suspiciously. She did not want to believe that sweet Eve could be capable of those wounds on his body. She sighed. "I know Hell corrupts live humans. That's why I stopped Decker trying to persuade Amenediel to take her there."

"She what?" He almost choked on his whiskey.

The demon closed her eyes, breathed and opened them again. "When she regained some kind of sense to herself after you left she came up with this insane idea that she could follow you. Get you back. Linda said she had never seen somebody hit the self destruct button so fast in her entire career".

"Shit" Lucifer whispered, pressing his palm over his face. He never realised it was that bad.

"Yeah" Maze responded. "That's all you can come up with..."

"What am I mean to say, Mazikeen?" he replied, face crumbling. "Sorry doesn't cover it, but I had to protect her. Protect everyone. You know what it's like down there. Do you think, really think, that if I didn't go we could stop it all up here?"

Maze dropped her head. "No", she responded, taking another drink.

"The one time I take responsibility in my life and I end up hurting everyone. Still end up hurting everyone. I can't win!" He paused, needing to divert away from the subject as she had no real answers for him either. "Mazey, I was thinking. I might play..."

"Play as in your version of play or..?" she asked. "You have a _girlfriend_ now remember that really won't be too happy with anything but you keeping it in your pants for once".

"The piano" he replied bluntly. "Tonight. If the Detective is well enough to come with me".

"Is it a good idea announcing you are back?" Maze asked in surprise. She had got used to people asking questions about why he was no longer there. In the early evenings, when the place was more of a piano bar, she had also seen the downturn in custom. She had thought of hiring someone else but decided against it. That would mean he had gone if Lucifer Morningstar was being replaced and she was not ready for that.

"Probably not, but it feels as though its time", Lucifer responded, gesturing for the bottle.

"So are you staying?" she asked, passing it to him. She needed to know.

Maze saw his shoulders drop before he answered. "I am going make the best of what I can whilst I can and that includes Lux and the detective, Charlie and, well, people I can call my friends. You include Mazey. We are a good team, even if I don't act like it sometimes".

The demon sighed. "Don't make me say I missed you" she offered; tone quiet and reflective.

"The fact you were so bloody angry with me suggests you did. Miss me that is" he smiled, leaning across to squeeze her hand. "Come on Mazey, despite it all we _are _a good team aren't we?!" The demon was not about to admit it. She downed the last of her glass, ripped her hand away before she grabbed the bottle again, filling both glasses before raising hers in a toast. _Guess so_.

"So how are you?" Linda asked, sipping from the cup of tea that a hobbling Chloe had made her. They were sitting in the front room; Chloe's therapy sessions having moved more to friendly chats of comfort now she was seeing Dr Goodman. "How's the pain?"

"Almost gone" Chloe replied, shifting in her seat. Her legs were covered by a thick velvet blanket that Lucifer had insisted on and to be honest, living under it was quite cosy when she was on her own. "Trixie's running around like a mother hen. Takes me all my effort to get her to school rather than stay here and play nurse!"

Linda smiled. "No work?"

There had been nothing in the papers or online about decomposed bodies but Chloe had tried desperately to put the Mayan out of her mind whilst she could do nothing about it. She was probably putting two and two together and getting fifty. "No" Chloe responded. "Not a text, not an email. Ella's been though, but she just changes the subject even if I try to ask her what's happening!"

"Good and it should stay that way until your sick leave ends. So how are you and Lucifer?" Linda asked. She had not seen him in the office for two weeks but he did tend to come and go when he pleased at times.

"He's actually not as fussy as I thought he might be but you know he's a man of extremes". Chloe paused to take a sip of tea. "I mean he's hardly cooking and cleaning but he has turned up with the odd pizza or Chinese and sat with me watching a film, taken Trixie out so I can sleep. I mean he only tidies up when he's high...not that has been around me or Trix. I don't think..." she laughed, waving her hands.

"Is he..?" Linda's question dripped into the air. Above it all, protecting her friend was her highest objective.

"He has not tried to jump me once since I left Hospital" Chloe offered, unsure whether she was disappointed. "Not even a suggestive remark _and _he does seem to be less shocked when Trixie hugs him! Even if he still has that look of a condemned man when she does..." She finished her comment with a giggle.

"I'm impressed" Linda responded, pressing her lips together at his progress.

"Are you?" Chloe replied, surprised.

"You are not?"

Chloe cleared her throat. "He must have been staying at Lux when he wasn't here..." Inadvertently the therapist has touched on a subject that had been worrying her. How could go from the drink, drugs and sex to barely touching alcohol or nicotine; one woman and for the last two weeks, seemingly temporary celibacy? He never lied to her, but this particular hotel had not been open for business. Could anyone curb their ways that quickly?

"And you are worried about temptation?" Linda asked.

Chloe nodded quickly. "Look at Lux. Most of it going free without any attachments or complications. No pre-teen kids running around him, no bills, no rent. All those women and men looking like they could eat him alive in more ways than one... and then there's me.,."

"What's wrong with you?" The therapist was confused.

"I mean, look at me" Chloe replied, gesturing at herself. "I look like I need about three weeks sleep, I am hobbling everywhere still, sitting here in a old tracksuit..."

"You do look far brighter Chloe" Linda encouraged. "At least to me".

"I do feel it, a little. I mean I know I'm not 100% but I don't think I realised how much pain I was in before the operation I think I just got used to it, but.." she sighed. "Its just nagging at me that...he lives off sex and...forget it. I'm being an idiot".

"So how do you feel inside your head?"

"Trying not to get too comfortable. Enjoy each moment with him that I can. Dr Goodman said it's the only way. I mean I've not told him about Lucifer, that he's the Devil because he would just commit me to the nearest nut house but my fears he will up and leave. He just says to enjoy every minute as much as I can". _Don't think. Don't think._ Chloe sighed as she heard a knock on the front door. Linda got up to get it and opened it.

"Raphael!" she exclaimed. "How very nice to see you!"

Chloe turned in her seat to see the smartly dressed sibling step in. "Raphie come in"

"I only have a few minutes Doctor, Miss Decker, but I heard you were unwell and I wanted to come to see you", he said, sitting down once he was invited. He could feel the relief inside her that first time he had seen her at the station. If he could help in any little way. "I wonder Miss Decker if I may assist with that?"

"Assist?" Chloe asked, shivering as she remember that sensation of being filled with almost golden threads of joy just as he held her hands.

He nodded. "Can you stand?"

Once she was up, Raphael gently placed his hand on Chloe's hip over where the bandage was under her blue sweatpants. "Breathe carefully Miss Decker, steadily, deeply". Chloe could feel a tingling on her hip and all of a sudden any pain, burning and soreness was gone. She knew what had happened and out of the corner of her eye she saw Linda's shocked face.

She flung her arms around the angel. "Thank you so much Raphie"

"My pleasure" he smiled. "I am sorry I could not assist you before, before you had surgery. My real purpose though was to ask, perhaps, I wonder if you could let Samael know I have been here? Gabriel and I do wish to speak to him. Speak with him and rather urgently at that". He did not wish to go to Lux and speak to him with that demon infecting the place.

"I will". He left only a few minutes later and the moment Linda shut the door, Chloe's cell buzzed. She smiled.

"Good news?" Linda asked, seeing the gleam on her friends face, still rather stunned at seeing what had just happened. She sat, a strange feeling coming over her body in wonderment.

"Lucifer wants me to come to Lux tonight. He's going to play", Chloe offered, tapping a response quickly into her cell.

"And you are going?"

Chloe nodded and a few hours later she was at Lux. It was approaching 8 pm; she was tired, but incredibly excited to hear Lucifer play again. He had set her a place perched on a stool by the bar, him in her direct line of sight. He had chosen a dress for her, a simple black knee length flared number and she had accepted it because she wasn't going to fight him over a dress. A drink in hand that she actually did not touch, Chloe just listened and watched as the small crowd burst into applause the moment the last key was hit. Even Maze, who was standing at the other end of the bar, was looking as proud as she could muster up.

Lucifer gave a small smile himself to the group that had surrounding the piano as he stood up, stepping through them. It did not escape Chloe's notice that as he walked towards her, two incredibly underdressed women latched on to an elbow each and it set about that doubt in her head again. His eyes, however, were so intensely focussed on her, that in one smooth almost shift of his shoulders he seemed brush them off like flies.

"Are you alright? You look tired" he said as he stepped up, brushing his palm down her arm to take up her hand.

"I am". Chloe frowned. "I might go upstairs and have a nap and come back down later..."

"I'll come up with you" Lucifer said, thinking he still had to help her off the seat and did just that.

"You do not have to babysit me, Luce".

"I know I don't" he replied, dotting a kiss to her cheek. "I am choosing to escort you upstairs. Let me. Please."

Chloe saw the odd looks she was being given as she moved through the heavy crowd with him towards the lift. "They think you are my soon to be discarded conquest for the night" he whispered into her hair. "Such a shame they are so very much mistaken..." They stepped into the lift, side by side. "I'll come back up and get you in about an hour".

Chloe blinked. Seeing him back playing the piano, long, elegant fingers dancing over the keys had caused to her to start squirming in her seat even if her eyes were closing in the warmth of the room. "Are you not staying me with me?"

"No" he began. "Some things are worth waiting for and I would like you to be awake and healed first..." he trailed off as the lift doors closed. Chloe saw him frowning, squinting as the gap in the doors shut.

"What?" she asked, seeing the sudden change in his demeanour..

"Nothing" Lucifer replied, shaking his head.

"What did you see?" she asked, creeping closer to him and holding onto his bicep.

"Nothing to worry about", he replied as the lift drew up to the penthouse floor to a smooth stop. "Just seeing things" he added brightly, hoping she did not see that twitch on his face and the wash of anxiety that rumbled through his body. Chloe let him walk a pace or two in front of her into the penthouse. "Come on, you settle and I'll stay till you fall asleep."

"Lucifer..." Chloe started, seeing him walk up the two steps to his bedroom as she hung behind. He didn't react to his name being called, more interested in pushing back the bedclothes for her. "Lucifer..." she repeated but this time he heard something in her voice that caused him to turn. It was the tempting, sing-song reciting of his name that caused it.

"Oh mercy..." he whispered, his jaw practically hitting the expensive marble floor. "You're wearing my present".

In between the lift and the stairs of his bedroom Chloe had divested herself of her dress and was standing there in the black lace he had bought her back with those bikinis and the vertiginous heels she had fallen off not long ago. She pushed her hair behind her ear, bravado having got the better of her for the ten seconds it took her to lose the dress and now she was slightly regretting feeling rather exposed.

"You don't have to" he said.

"You haven't had sex in over 2 weeks. You must be dying. You haven't even tried it on with me", Chloe said all of a sudden. She wasn't sure whether she was poking a bear when she said it or judging him. He was hardly going to confess to having shagged his way around Lux whilst she was at home recovering even if he had been. Whatever they had still remained undefined and what hold did she exactly have over him? "You shoved those women down there off you. I figured you might...you know".

"I know I haven't exactly been active in that aspect of our life but that's not my point". He was about to step over to kiss her when he noticed the surgical bandage gone from her hip where the high edge of the material lay, replaced by a single pink and healthy looking scar. She felt her hips being spun around and he bent down to look at her skin. "What happened?!"

"Oh, Raphie did that" Chloe replied casually, looking down at him.

"He healed your wound?" he responded, gently pushing his thumb against her skin.

"Yeah..." Even now it sounded so weird. She saw him look up at her suspiciously, one eyebrow raised. Despite the fact that she had tried to ignore it she had noticed that he would get possessive if another man stood near her, talked to her. Even though she had no intention of amending her behaviour, she would have put a stop to that. It had the risk of suffocating her. "He did not touch me inappropriately", she reassured him.

"Yes" he replied with a sigh. "It is Raphie after all. He usually has a panic attack even just from speaking to a woman let alone touching a real live, warm, willing, beautiful..." Lucifer straightened up, pressing a kiss to her collarbone.

"You actually like him", she laughed, shivering from the tickle of his lips and the fact she was half naked.

"If I could be capable of feeling a kinship with one of my siblings, it would be Raphie". He felt her arms go around his neck. "Wait? Did he come to see you?"

"Yeah" she replied, breathing on his skin. "He wants to see you too. Well they all do".

"Not happening" Lucifer stated, taking her hands and going to site himself on his bed, pulling her behind him before she stood between his knees. Lucifer pulled her forward so he could rest his cheek on her abdomen; arms around the backs of her thighs. "No brothers, not happening, not tonight, never. Only you and me" he continued his speech muffled by the kisses he was dotting around her middle, still whilst she was wearing the lace. Chloe felt like her heart was going to melt. He straightened up, nuzzling the valley between her breasts, hearing her breathing pick up as his palms clasped and unclasped around her buttocks. "I missed you so much" he muttered. She wasn't sure whether that was the last two weeks or a year ago but neither mattered. "So so much..." His kisses trailed down her chest and back down to her abdomen over the lace material before he slipped his arm underneath her left leg so her foot went on the bed, two fingers slipping underneath the material to touch her intimately. He felt her hand go to the back of his head, pushing him closer, lips touching her through the lace, nuzzling, breathing her in. Chloe twitched when she felt just the tip of a finger enter her, swirling round teasing her slowly hearing her breathing pick up as the grip on the back of his head tightened. She could feel him smiling, probing at her and knowing just exactly what to do to bring her close, and quickly at that.

"Keep doing that and I'm gonna..." she breathed, swallowing and trying to control herself.

"Do it" Lucifer breathed, hooking his fingers up inside her. She heard the challenge in his voice, him pressing and moving inducing that wonderful ache. "Do not be shy around me Detective. If you need to, just do it". She could feel his shaky hot breath on her stomach.

"Gonna...oh..." She planted her heeled foot down on the bed more firmly, trying to get purchase as her body betrayed her unable to resist the exploration he was taking of her body, muscles flickering and clamping around his fingers as he smiled against her skin, still where his chin rested on her abdomen. Underneath the haze of arousal, as her gentle sounds filled the air both heard the lift ding.

"Oh for..." he cursed in between the kissing he was lavishing on her inner thighs now, her hips still slowly moving under his palms. "Go away". It was only under his breath at first but as the footsteps grew closer he raised his voice. "I said go away!" It wasn't Maze; he knew her walk, nor Linda, nor Ella- the footsteps were too heavy. He felt Chloe move away; not reaching her completion quiet yet. If it was the Douche, oh how he would love to see his reaction to his ex-wife on her knees between his legs undoing his belt because that's where she was now, deaf to anything but the blood pounding around her body. Lucifer turned his attempts back quickly to Chloe. "Go...oh fuck..." His order dissolved into an expletive as her mouth and hands arrived on his warm skin. "Leave..."

He opened his eyes. "Blast it, bollocking, bloody...Chloe, Detective, get up". Chloe felt him almost shove her off him and get up as she landed on her heels, turning bodily to see what has cause him to react so.

"Brother..."

"Fuck off Gabe", Lucifer spat, hoping to every ethereal being that existed that his three brothers had not seen Chloe with her ass in the air and mouth wrapped around him. He didn't care less with anyone else but she was different. "And you Amenediel. Raphie I know you don't approve of expletives so I am asking you to politely leave too".

"You've exposed yourself Lucifer" Gabriel started.

"In more ways that one" Raphael deadpanned, seeing his brother shove his shirt back into his pants as he stepped down to them. Chloe had shifted out of the way so she could pick up his silk dressing gown to cover herself. The dress she had been wearing and discarded was forming a barrier on the floor between them and his brothers.

"You are as funny as rabies, Raphie", Lucifer offered, leaving his belt undone as an advertisement of what she had just been about to do."Wait" he continued, suddenly catching on. "How did you know I played tonight?"

"We were downstairs" Amenediel offered without a shred of guilt about it.

Lucifer shook his head in despair. "You were spying on me. I thought I saw you". The lift. _Of course._

"Did Chloe pass our message on?" Gabriel asked. He was in no mood for his brother's shenanigans tonight.

"She did. I choose to do nothing with the information that she had little choice but to communicate to me" Lucifer replied tersely.

"We have had word from Father that Michael has absconded again" Amenediel offered as Lucifer snorted, feeling Chloe stand by his side. "We know he will come looking for you, just like he did with Chloe".

"Isn't that what you wanted? I was your pawn remember, or that's at least what you wanted_. Your trap._ Who cares if Michael knows where I am? Or that little witch I once thought the world of?" Lucifer replied, standing on the spot but ready to fight; bodily remove his brothers one by way if he had to. "She is Adam the Amoeba's problem if he can't control his wife. My eyes are open for the pair of them. Now if you will forgive me I was busy until you rudely interrupted".

"Luci..." Amenediel's voice stopped him turning Chloe back towards the bedroom. "We don't want you to do anything you don't want to, but we have to find them and do it on our terms. Either of them could have turned up tonight. Could have fought them off?" _Not with the Detective present, no._

"Get out!" he yelled, Chloe jumping at the sudden assault on her ear drums. "I'm sick of you, brothers. Leave me in peace. I have a woman to worship..."

"Samael" Raphael began trying to alleviate the tension in the room.

"No, Raphie. No wonder Michael keeps 'absconding'", Lucifer spat. "If he wants to fornicate his way around the world, good! Let him! He must be as sick as me at having you three preaching to him. Even though I can't bear the moron, I actually have some sympathy for him being stuck with you three for millennia on end." Lucifer breathed for second. "No" he continued, shaking his head. Chloe could feel his blood starting to boil, even from her place behind him. It was only her hands resting his waist that stopped him from flying at them. "I will play at Lux if I wish to. I might go back to work if the LAPD will have me. I will not be your pawn. I am happy. Leave me and the detective alone!"

"Father..." Gabriel began only to be interrupted as he took a step forward.

"You can tell _Dad_ from me to shove it up his omnipotent arse! The door is there!" Lucifer's eyes flashed red and the three angels stepped back and turned away. "Out!"

Did Chloe pick up that same voice she had heard in the Mayan; one where it dropped a couple of octaves and almost caused her to bow down to him in veneration just like the demons did? She moved in front of him and pressed her palms into his chest as the other three slunk out of the penthouse. "You are coming back to work?!" she asked, seeing the redness in his eyes melt away. It didn't bother her it seemed to her slight surprise.

Lucifer swallowed. He had thought about it but it seemed his temper had made up his mind for him. "If your Lieutenant will have me back that is. If _you_ will have me..."

He saw a huge smile crack across her face. "I'm on desk duty from next Monday onwards. Linda tried to talk me out of it but, you can help me with my paperwork" Lucifer pulled a face like a five year old. "It's not that bad" Chloe carried on. "You'll be sitting with me all day..." she started, running her fingertips up his chest, dipping between the buttons. "An actual _whole hour_ for lunch, starting at 9, going home at 5, no night shifts, no tramping around rancid parts of LA looking for..."

"I get it" Lucifer smiled. "I'll speak to your new Lieutenant on Monday. Happy now?"

"Not really" she offered and he saw her take down the strap of his present before his hand stopped her.

"Ah no!" he responded, moving it back up to which he received a frown.

"Why?" Chloe responded, eyes wide ready for the rejection. His brothers had somewhat killed the mood after all. Maybe he is getting it elsewhere her betraying brain teased her.

"Because", Lucifer replied, leaning close to her ear to whisper. "You're going to wear it all the time. I want you wearing it when I sink inside you".

"Oh! Okay..." she squeaked as the sound was swallowed up with a kiss before she was almost shoved back up the stairs. She would have take up the slap on the backside he gave her later.


	31. Chapter 31

"Hey girly!"

Chloe smiled as she heard the forensic scientist's voice from behind her as she dropped her coat on to the back of her chair. "Morning Ella."

"Welcome back!" the other woman exclaimed, enveloping Chloe in a warm hug. "How's the hip?" Of all people she knew Ella would happily welcome her back.

"Much better" Chloe smiled, sliding into the familiarity of her seat. "As good as healed!" Three more days of antibiotics as well and that was over and done with. Ella sat perched on the corner of the Detective's desk.

"So erm, no Lucifer?" Ella asked, Chloe answering her in a nod towards the Lieutenant's office. Ella had not seen him slip into the station, seemingly having arrived with little to no fuss or bother which to be frank, made a change. He hadn't stayed at the Detective's beach house last night both concluding that it might look too suspicious and it seemed that the Devil had arrived to work before anyone. Maybe he was turning over a new leaf. "Is he?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Coming back to work" Chloe replied, wearing her seemingly ever present anxious expression. "Yes. Well he wants to..."

Ella was cautious as the prospect. She was far too aware of how Chloe had been this past year and even if her mood had lifted slightly, Ella did not wish to see the tumult that would likely follow if he went again. He had done it before. Why not again now? Was it a step too far that they were back working together? In fact, might it be even worse now, now that they were together in more ways that just professionally. She loved Chloe, loved him, but it would be Detective who would break and be left with the aftermath. "And you are?"

"Nervous? Excited?" Chloe replied straightening up and trying to push down that thumping in her chest as she flipped on her computer. "Bricking it; as he would say, but he wants to be back and...well, I want him back." Her words reverberated around her head. She had said something like that before. How he pissed her off but she would rather he be in her life that out of it. She had missed working with him.

Ella turned to look properly at the Lieutenants office. Rogers and Lucifer seemed to be laughing and joking like old friends. "So have I missed much?" Chloe asked. The last couple of days, whilst she had had distractions with a weekend with Trixie, the spectre of coming back to work was lingering on her shoulder.

Ella bit her lip. She knew this day would come. "Yeah, sort of..."

"Sort of?" Chloe frowned, immediately telling from her friend's ansty body language that something was up. This did not sound good.

Ella nodded, glancing from side to side to make sure they were not being overheard. "Yeah, three more decomposing...

"What?!" Chloe replied, shunting her seat closer to the other woman. She leant on her desk. "Three more and you didn't tell me?" Chloe too checked there were no listeners.

"As far as I know they are trying to keep it under wraps. With it be a little _unusual_ and that..." Ella shrugged.

"Do you have the details?" Chloe asked keenly.

"You are on desk duty only"

"I can investigate from my seat...besides they are not letting me out to any active crime scenes where you know...they are _fresh_" Chloe responded.

Ella sighed. "Come into the lab". It was quieter in there.

The two women had little time to converse, being in the lab barely a minute when the door swung open, the blind clanging as it swung shut. Lucifer looked full of the joys of spring, smiling from ear to ear. Admittedly Chloe had not seen him that 'bouncy' in well, since he came back. "Ah Miss Lopez!"

"Mr Morningstar!" Ella replied happily. "Well?"

Lucifer looked to Chloe, to Ella and back again. "Its fine, she knows" Chloe replied with a nod of the head and in anticipation of the outcome of his meeting with Rogers.

"Well if that's the case" Lucifer replied, striding across and sliding his arm around Chloe's waist. "Say an exceptional good morning to your reinstated consultant and partner!" The two women squealed in unison. He might have expected it out of Ella but not off the Detective. The former was jumping up and down clapping her hands and the other had wrapped herself around his neck, turning his head towards her, kissing him quite openly. "So where we do start?" he asked, thinking he should break the 'too intense for work' kiss because quick enough Chloe would realise what she had done.

With that question the atmosphere in the room dropped. "We erm..." Chloe started, taking a deep breath and wondering whether he would come to the same conclusion as she did. "Bit of body snatching she started, but it's not really homicide. All natural deaths, yes?"

Ella nodded, picking up a sheet of paper that she had intended to give to the Detective, but she read it instead. It was the personal details of the all disturbed graves and who or what was in them. "The one cancer you know about" she started, "two heart attacks and those other three were another cancer, mesothelioma and a rather interesting tropical disease caught in Mozambique"

"I want to speak to Rogers to see if I can look into it", Chloe announced.

Lucifer looked from one to the other. Ella wondered how much he knew about the aftermath of the Mayan. He had left so quickly afterwards. _Wait! Sugar! Was he involved?! No can't be! _"Come on you pair out with it!" Lucifer was still in a quite chipper mood, even though he could see both women's faces.

"Your call Decker" Ella replied with a shrug. "You know more about it than me".

"Come back to my desk, Lucifer", Chloe said, sliding her hand into his elbow. "You need to know something." He followed her out like a puppy, Ella suppressing a smile as they went.

Two cups of coffee later, Lucifer was digesting Chloe's suspicions. "What if it is the Mayan?" Chloe asked as she slumped in her seat, deliberately keeping her voice low. She had already shown him the less salacious newspaper reports from the time.

"How though?" he replied. He had taken up a seat next to her so he could see the information on her computer screen that Ella had emailed and the countless journalistic interpretations of the event. "The demons were contained and sent back. Every single one. Maze and I made sure of it, Detective. You saw we did". He took up her hand that had been resting on the desk, only for her to snatch it away. "You, erm.. you might be reaching for something that isn't there".

"But I don't know what they did with the bodies afterwards and I can't exactly go and ask but we do know who was in the Mayan. It will just blow the whole thing up, Lucifer". Chloe signed. "I know we should keep quiet, not join the dots, but if it is something to do with you..."

"You have a valid point Detective", Lucifer replied. A thought suddenly struck him, dismissing for now the fact that she had refused his affection and comfort when he tried to hold her hand. "Do you know where they were all buried in the first place?" She shook her head. _Someone might but again, would they even tell her? She wasn't even mean to be looking at this._ "Well should we start there?" he asked. "Looking for patterns like you keep telling me. If they were all taken from the same place...our within a radius of somewhere..."

"You do listen to me".

"Of course I do", Lucifer replied, daring to just touch his fingertips to hers. It induced a smile..

"Right okay then, cemetery records offices it is" Chloe replied, pushing herself away from her desk. "After I speak to Rogers that is..."

"Do you want me to..." Lucifer asked, vaguely gesturing around his face. _Use the mo-jo._

"No!" Chloe exclaimed. She took a pace away and pressed her lips together.

"You are conflicted Detective..." he responded, standing up behind her, very much in her personal space as they both faced Roger's office. "Sure you don't want me to. It would make life _hellishly_ easier...!" Chloe breathed in. The temptationn screamed at her...

Almost four hours later, they were walking through a line of graves, a list in hand and having not made much progress. "You know I never expected today to end with me walking through a graveyard" Lucifer mused. "And I cannot believe you didn't let me persuade Rogers first. We could have been out of there in two minutes!" _Instead of twenty! _

Chloe laughed as they made it to the path. "Well welcome back to the LAPD" she began, turning so she was facing him. "I can't ask you to use your mo-jo for me to get the quickest and easiest answer all the time..."

"You can" he offered simply. Easy means to an end.

"And I know I _can_, but it's unfair to do it, even if I want the best strike rate in the precinct!" she responded. "But its not fair for me to ask you, or be underhand although I for one am grateful to have my partner back. Are you coming over for dinner tonight?"

"If you'll have me..." Lucifer offered, innuendo free.

"Oh I intend that" she smiled, seeing a raised eyebrow from him that screamed _'Detective!'_ "Trix is at Hallie's for the night and..." She noted he seemed to have tuned out and seemed to be staring at something over her shoulder. "Luce what are you looking at? Don't tell me your brothers are still around?"

"No" he replied. "I was just thinking of..."

"Of?" she asked, sliding her hand into his elbow as they kept walking.

"When we were at the station, this morning when I tried to hold your hand and you were calling me Lucifer". He sound quite hurt and Chloe should have known he would have taken it the wrong way.

"You were calling me Detective" she replied. He had to give her that.

"Explain to me please. I thought it was perfectly normal for two people like us to hold hands. You kissed me in front of Ella". He was confused with these human customs and behaviours.

"I did and it is. Except..." she started, gently patting his arm. "We are at work. We have to separate it off from where we have to be professional. I can see the gossip mill already. I can trust Ella and Dan but the rest of them? They'd be into Rogers quicker than that telling tales", she continued, snapping her fingers. "Rogers doesn't approve of office romances and he would have us split up and I don't want that".

Lucifer nodded carefully. He didn't really like referring it to an 'office romance'. It sounded pathetic and tawdry; like they would be banging in supply closets and snogging at the Christmas party. "I understand" he offered. He would try to amend his behaviour. "Detective, if it is the Mayan...there could be tens of bodies turn up, but why would they start turning up now?"

She shook her head. It was getting more and more unbelievable as the minutes passed and for a moment Chloe wondered if she was truly reaching, just as he said. "It would have to be someone in the know. To know these bodies were the ones that were...what? Inhabited?" she offered. "And they would have to know where they were put afterwards. None of the families were told and it was strictly need to know with us...It was passed off a mass cult suicide, you saw those newspapers. Nobody 'identified', people supposedly living off grid, loners, weirdos, a few crisis actors thrown in as grieving relatives".

"They actually do that?" he asked, surprised.

"More often than you think", Chloe responded, but the question of 'why now?' still stuck in her mind. Lucifer had kept off radar and so far few knew he was back. The bodies started dropping long before he made his presence felt at Lux, but it still nagged at her that he was connected in some way. "I suppose we will have to find that out!" she exclaimed, before turning and blocking his path. Chloe rested her palms on his hips.

"Now, now Detective, we are at work!"

Chloe dipped her head. "Yeah alright..." she smiled feeling thoroughly sheepish. She breathed in. "Luce, what are you, we, going to do about your brothers?"

"Ignore them" he replied bluntly. "They are perfectly capable of attending to Michael and that woman themselves. Dad can do what he wants. He usually does".

"Luce" Chloe responded, trying to keep calm and steady. "I am not going to say a word about your Dad because he might not like me when and if I have the displeasure to meet him but, if Eve is prowling around up here, down here, wherever, she is somewhere out there and she may still be after you".

"And I don't care, Detective!" he exclaimed, seeing her head drop at his response. "Detective, Chloe..." Lucifer lifted her chin with his fingertips. "I have had enough of my father, that woman, my family, Hell, all of its minions. I've made a decision. I want a life with you and the urchin. You and her, the good Doctor, Charlie, Miss Lopez..."

"You've created your own family" she whispered, albeit shocked at that - was that a vague proposal? No course it wasn't. Have some sense, Decker!

"I am not fit to be the devil I used to be" he confessed, keeping his voice very low. "All of this thing with Eve, despite it all, I knew I wasn't fit to be there. I am not fit to be there now and I never will be. I am too...too..."

"Mortal?"

"_Human_ or at least those emotions am learning interfere with my ability to rule as I should and, some of these emotions, I think I like them. Like..." He dived for her neck, dragging his lips up the sensitive skin.

"Luce..." she breathed, shivering. "Cemetery..."

"Sorry" Lucifer replied, actually not remotely ashamed but she was. "I want to gain possession of the person - angel- I used to be and you Detective are my key. I want to be absolved for being the son I became".

Chloe smiled at his breakthrough. "Do you believe that you can do that?"

"I do" he responded. "I have to. You were made for me; you are immune to me and I want that".

"So you finally believe I have free choice in loving you?" she replied.

"I do. I had a lot of time to think about it and I do".

Chloe reached up and kissed him, feeling his arms wrap around her waist. "I want you to stay", she whispered, determined not to cry and feeling him sigh. Sod work, sod the fact they were in a cemetery. There was no-one around and it needed saying.

"I want my choice, Detective" he sighed. She was so comfortable and warm. She was home.

"Then we have to expedite it", Chloe replied, still wrapped in him. "Help your brothers Luce" she pleaded. "They can deal with the threat and we can, well, we can move forward. You can seek your father's forgiveness". Chloe paused. "Help him and your brothers".

"You are too good Detective".

She shook her head. "If you believe that I am somehow your path to your father's forgiveness; that I am somehow showing you the right way then we step up to the plate. The two of us".

He frowned and released her. "He rejected me. My brothers sided with him. Why should I help him?" The anger he felt towards his father was still there bubbling underneath the surface.

"To be the better man. Because you are, Luce" she pleaded as he sighed and looked skywards. It wasn't intentional that he looked towards the heavens but it was somehow fitting. "Take a step back" she continued. "Hold up your hands and if you let go of it, you might just, well, forgive yourself too". Lucifer pressed his lips together. Chloe could feel he was starting to boil and she knew she was very close to home. "Look", she said. "We have tonight. We'll go straight from work to home. I'll cook and we can talk more. Yes?"

"What would I do..." His words were halted by a high pitched scream and they shot a look at each other, unclear where the noise was coming from. Another scream came. "It's there!" Lucifer exclaimed pointing down the hill to his left; their conversation long forgotten. "Come on!" he said, grabbing her hand to tow her down the hill

They were met with an almost hysterical young woman, maybe in her early twenties. "Help me! Help me! Please! Someone!"

"LAPD" Chloe replied as the woman almost ran, crashing, bodily into her. "What happened?" Lucifer headed towards the grave she had been tending.

The woman just pointed. "My boyfriend...he, I came to see him...died last year...but the grave!" As the Detective seemed to have her hands full, it only took Lucifer a second to ascertain what was going on.

"Well?" Chloe mouthed, still holding the poor sobbing woman.

Lucifer nodded. "It's been disturbed. I'll call it in". The fact he could see the fingertips of something or other sticking out from underneath the shale was enough.

Across the street just out of the line of sight, the figure buried in the shadows took in the scene. One day, one day it had to happen. All it ok was a little patience and sure enough the two of them were back together, working, in public. _Kissing_ in public, finding _disturbed graves_ in public. Of course he would run off to his little pet. The image of them kissing, the image of them in bed, bodies moving in unison, hung like spectre in the air and how it had stung.

How easy it would be to draw him out now...now he was back with her. _So,_ so _easy._

They had not really talked over dinner, and now lazing in front of a fairly awful film, they were both incredibly distracted with long languorous kisses. There didn't seem much hurry tonight as Chloe felt his tongue sweep over her lips, lying side by side on the settee, his thigh jammed between her legs that was exerting just the right kind of pressure and pleasure.

Yes, she knew what Linda had said about him and yes her judgment probably clouded by her newly released libido, but this was too perfect, too right to pass up. _'Think only of today; of what you can do with today'_ Dr Goodman had told her and well, she had decided to take that advice and ignore the nagging in her treacherous brain. _'It will only consume you more if you think of the worst all the time'._ If that meant lying on her couch half underneath her celestial lover, white shirt open as he lazily palmed her breasts then so be it. Chloe felt his fingertips on her neck pulling at the chain, lifting the pendant – his bullet – and gently caressing it. She had not taken it off from the moment it had been returned to her. Chloe smiled when she realised through the haze what he was doing.

"And... I am... never taking it off... again", she announced. "Even if you have... penetrated me...several times already..." She was struggling to get her words out.

Lucifer snorted. "Yes, well..." He cleared his throat, shunting his hips into hers like some hormone ridden teenage boy. "Goes to show how things change". The pendant was placed reverently back on her skin before he dived for her neck as the movie rumbled on in the background, her hips rocking against the muscle of his thigh. Chloe felt his palm rest on her jaw, hearing as if from a distance her own breathing. She opened her eyes. "If you want to come, Detective I have no objections". He could hear her – had begun to recognise that mewling sound she made and the facts that her hips were_ rolling_.

Chloe laughed. "I want to talk to you...like we promised", she breathed. "Not be distracted...oh my...g... good gracious" She licked her lips quickly trying to breathe through the fact that her body was winding up

"Nice save. Chloe" he began, "I would perhaps suggest, come now talk later". He did not let her answer as he began to nuzzle her neck again, a trail of kisses, taking her lace covered nipple into his mouth. Something snapped inside her; her hand flying to the back of his head, keeping him here.

He was wearing a smirk as her body pushed up into his, and under her breath she swore as she came. Perhaps twenty seconds later, she spoke. "If we talk now, I promise..." She whispered a description of her plans into his ear, still too afraid to say the words out loud.

"You are relentless" Lucifer breathed, still dotting kissed over the collarbones. "But yes", he replied. "In lieu of that particular prospect, talk to me". He shifted a little and pulled the edges of her shirt back over her.

"Have you thought that maybe you were wrong too?" Chloe asked. "With what happened with your father?"

"Go for the jugular Detective". It sounded like he was teasing her but Chloe was not entirely sure. "I was the second most powerful being, besides him," he started, "and yes, I wanted what he had and yes, no, you are right. Might not have thought it then, but now, yes, I rebelled and he punished me for it. Dumped me in Hell" Lucifer sighed. "I detested him for it, making me the way I was"

"But you have some responsibility for it" Chloe replied. "You are beautiful..." she replied, eyes drifting over his face, "but it went to your head..."

He laughed. "Yes that does just about cover it. I will never think of him as my father. I mean I know the Douche is a Douche but at least he's involved with the urchin. He doesn't judge her whatever the miscreant does or doesn't do".

"Recently" Chloe replied. "He wasn't when she was little. I had a ten day old baby swinging off my boobs twenty four seven, felt like I'd been repeatedly run over by a truck and he started to take as many night shifts as he could. Said it was for the extra money but..." Chloe shrugged her shoulders. "She wasn't planned and I adored her from the moment I found out I was pregnant... but he had to learn to be her Dad over again...make a deal with your Dad, Luce. He can free you".

He ducked his head, kossing her cheekbone. Could he free himself though? Before he thought could be vocalised, on the table her cell vibrated. "Oh for..." she breathed, hand flailing in the air as she tried to reach. Instead, Lucifer took his hand from her ribs and passed it to her. If it was the urchin and she had missed the call, she would kill him and when it came it, she of all people probably could.. There was no point fighting it.

"It's my mother", Chloe breathed. _Not now...please._

"Well answer it then..." he offered, trailing a warm breath over her neck as she signed from frustration.

"Hey Mom" Chloe started, trying to sound bright as a button. She and the man beside her had so much to talk about and she did not need this. Ignoring the call though would only serve Chloe with a headache she did not need so it was best to get it over and done with.

From his place besides her Lucifer could hear her mother's voice. "Monkey! Here was me thinking you were ignoring my call like you usually do!"

"No Mom. How are you?" Chloe had her eyes shut.

"Oh you know, muddling along. I have an audition on Friday week. Playing Bing Crosby's mother!", Penelope replied, sounding thoroughly annoyed she was of an age now that she was playing ladies of a certain age.

"Oh" Chloe breathed. feigning interest. "Made for TV movie?" She heard a huff from her mother as Chloe felt Lucifer's smile against her jaw. Seems she had hit the nail on the head. Chloe felt her bed mate start to undo the last few buttons at the bottom of her shirt, diving underneath it to capture the lace of her bra again, feeling his thumb rub at her skin. She was keeping as silent as possible, apart from the very long breathe she found herself making.

"Are you alright?" Her mother's voice was curious.

Chloe snapped out of whatever stupor she had nearly found herself in. "Yeah Mom, it's just been a long day at work."

"So erm..." her mother started. Chloe could hear _that _tone in her voice. "Anything I need to know about?"

"No...Just busy with work as usual..."

"Hmmmm...It's not good for you working all the time" Penelope began. "You have to think of your own mental health, Chloe. Working all the time, no play, no relaxation. You have to have time to think about yourself."

"I am seeing someone Mom" Chloe opened her eyes and saw Lucifer freeze in shock. She put her finger to her lips. "A psychiatrist, a Dr Goodman. You know _therapy_. To find my balance". It was the kind of psychobabble she knew her Mom loved.

"I meant have you had sex recently?!" her mother exclaimed.

"Mom!" Chloe went red, even though she could see the man presently lying on top of her trying not to laugh.

"You know how tense you get when you don't..."Penelope started. _Please don't say that word!_

"Mom" she interrupted. "I am_ not_ having this conversation with you". Chloe looked up at Lucifer, who had now sat up on his knees as best he could on a couch. On hearing her mother's question he was gesturing back and forth between his middle and between her legs, starting to undo the zipper of his pants. He wearing what could only be described as a devious look. Chloe put her hand over the receiver just as he was about to undo his belt. "Don't!"

All she received in response was his eyes settling in that crimson colour that sent all kinds of shockwaves through her insides. He slung her knee to one side, settling in between them, pushing her shirt up to expose her skin every more, lavishing sloppy kisses to her abdomen. Chloe closed her eyes again.

"I am only thinking of you monkey!" Penelope carried on. "You can't live like this much longer. Weeping over a man you'll never have".

"Mom, Lucifer..." She hoped to every deity going that her mother had not heard the way she said his name as she felt him press a kiss to her hip bone. His eyes were still red.

"He just upped and left. You tell him you love him and he just...goes!" How Chloe wished she had not had that conversation with her Mom a few days after he went, crying hysterically down the phone line, just needing her Mom to be her _Mom_ for a change and trying to find some comfort from the one person she needed the most.

Lucifer's lips left her skin, Chloe feeling him loom over her, elegant fingers taking up the cell from her and placing it to his ear. "I can assure you Mama Decker, my darling, that your heavenly daughter is being taken care of in every sense of the word".

Chloe put her arms over her face in despair, hearing her Mom's over enthusiastic, friendly response to hearing his deep British tones. Instead of listening, to whatever he was charming her mother with Chloe put her hands over her ears.

Yeah, she had issues too, but let's start on his first.


	32. Chapter 32

Two days later another body popped up and Lucifer had found himself at the 'crime scene' without his right hand woman.

_"I gotta go get Trix" she had said after receiving that call from the school, just as they were about to leave. "She threw her breakfast up on Mrs Novak"._

She had squeezed his hand in 'goodbye' and shot off to collect her offspring without a further word. So, instead, he had Complaining Dan by his side who had been sent with him to the scene grumbling in Chloe's absence. Lucifer lingered on the sidelines of the police tape not feeling this new but thankfully brief partnership and looking at the small crowd of police officers and bystanders who had noticed the activity.

Another disturbed grave; this time in the same cemetery as the screaming woman from the other day, except this time there were no fingers peeking out of the shale, it was a whole blackened lower limb. Whoever it was, maybe they were getting lazy, maybe they were wanting to be found out. Lucifer listened to the buzz of conversation around him as he carefully looked around the perimeter of the cemetery. If this was the Mayan, maybe someone was watching them, drawing them out for some purpose. But what for exactly? He had locked up every escaped demon and had a few troublesome ones were 'disposed of' (to put it far too politely) to prevent anarchy. He left the stupid ones who had little concept of the difference between left and right to roam freely. They wouldn't spot a plot to escape if it was dressed up in fairy lights and singing La Cucaracha.

Lucifer saw a now Deeply Disgruntled Dan walking over to him and ducking under the tape. "Any idea why Chlo is interested in this waste of time?" he asked, squinting at him due to the sun. "It's not Homicide's job to pick up already buried bodies".

"She didn't ask you to come out here Daniel", Lucifer replied tartly ignoring his statement but the terseness in his voice was obvious. "I could have dealt with this perfectly well without your sweaty little paw holding mine".

Dan made an annoyed noise. "Should have known you'd been too interested in this one", he started. It was weird as hell, but yeah, Lucifer Morningstar did weird well and he was now dragging Chloe down with him; something that Dan intended to prevent. He didn't care, nor indeed felt jealous, of the fact that Chloe had formed a new relationship, but he was deeply worried about the _who_ not the what. For a second, Dan wondered if it was connected to her mental state that she had made such a rash decision to involve herself with this twisted man. God knows what she was having to do to keep his attention from wandering to other women. Lucifer's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"I am simply doing what the Detective asked me to, and if you somehow object to it Daniel in your own petty way, your paltry vehicle is there and you can_ leave_" Lucifer offered, holding out his hand to 'show the way' to the path and where their cars were parked; the black Corvette shining in the sun next to its grey Dodge police issue neighbour with a dint on the wing.

"Good luck", Dan responded, slapping his palm hard on Lucifer's shoulder, a shot of electricity flying up Dan's arm as he thumped solid muscle and hit a nerve. "Jeez man..." he remarked, shaking the limb. "Look, this needs passing over to Special Investigations or Cold Cases or something. Not us. You can have the pleasure of telling Chlo that so I can get back to real work not her flight of fancy". Lucifer rolled his eyes and took a deep breath, pushing the air from his lips.

"Daniel..." The intonation of Lucifer's voice stopped him moving and the Detective turned back. "I know you are not amused by the fact that your ex-wife and I are together, but can we at least be civil to each other for her sake?"

Dan snorted and turned back. "You are something. You are certainly something! Trouble is, I don't know what!" With that he was off. Lucifer shook his head. "So much for trying", he muttered to himself but then he thought of what the Detective might want and tried again, striding up after him intent on catching him up. "Wait!..." Lucifer exclaimed, seeing the other man turn back. "I have a question for you then. You think she can't be happy with me, is that it?"

Dan's head dropped. He did not need this. He had real work to do. "You aren't her type" he offered.

"And you are?" Lucifer laughed, casually sliding his hands into his trouser pockets as they stood away from listening ears. "You divorced each other remember?"

"Chloe's sensible, straight down the line", Dan offered, jabbing a finger at the other man. "Not frivolous or vain or not dazzled by money or possessions. Or at least I thought that. Now I'm really not so sure".

"I think she wants a little fire in her life and believe me I intend to provide it", Lucifer replied, standing a little too close for comfort and seeing the other man still shaking his head in incredulity. "Daniel...I have no intention of leaving again if that is what you are thinking. This is not a fling". Dan laughed out loud. "No I mean it. She...she's too precious to me to think otherwise" Lucifer continued honestly.

Dan looked up as he heard some sincerity in his voice and it surprised him. "Look man" he started. "I am the last to preach to Chloe about life choices and I don't react the way I should sometimes, but she...I still love her. Not in a husband and wife or lover way, trust me!" he said, holding up his palm hoping he had not managed to incite the temper that bubbled under the surface. "I can't wipe out our marriage, the good years we had. Nor Trix..."

"I would not expect you to wipe the urchin from your life" Lucifer replied.

"I lost Charlotte" Dan began, feeling for a brief second that pressure in his chest rise that never really went away. "It makes you appreciate what you have and what needs to be protected in your life and Chlo, Trix and Ella are that".

Lucifer nodded. He was fond of Charlotte too but perhaps in an entirely different way. "Look" Lucifer replied as he held out a hand to Daniel. "Truce?" he asked. Dan would be the first to admit that he was taken aback, particularly as it came from him first. "This is about the Detective and Beatrice. Not me, nor you. So can we at least try to put aside our differences for now?" he asked. Dan looked down at the open hand extended to him and his hand twitched to take it up.

"You mean you aren't going to rip the shit out of me for being spectacularly useless every time we happen to be in the same proximity?" Dan asked, still very suspicious. He just didn't trust the man; was too wary of him to believe this sudden change of heart but he did have a point.

"I never said that and I can promise that I won't think it every time I am unfortunate enough to be in your company" Lucifer smiled. "But I am part of the Detective's life. The urchin's too as are you and it will do them no good for us to be behaving like a pair of wilful toddlers..."

"Jeez man, _wherever_ you went this past year, have you had some kind of personality transplant?" Dan asked as Lucifer shook his head. "You know, when Chlo said it was family problems, I thought she was covering for you, you know, maybe you'd gone to jail or run off 'cos you left her carrying your kid..."

"Jail?!" Lucifer responded, highly offended or at least giving off that impression. "Thank you Daniel", he continued sarcastically. "I can assure you that if I ever commit a crime, even the finest officers in the LAPD would never catch me nor convict me". He ignored the comment about procreation. Even if he was capable, his honour would not allow him to simply run out on her and leave her like that. No, it was a much greater reason than that.

Dan huffed at the arrogance of the man. "She always said you might be back, but she wasn't sure when. Always wondered when she said it was family problems why you went but that so called brother of yours stayed. You would think both of you would go...you know, if it was like that..."

Lucifer breathed in carefully, thinking his way through his response. "I had things to attend to, things only I could deal with. Undoubtedly that pleased you though." _That I was gone_.

"Not when I saw how fast Chlo collapsed, no it didn't" Dan replied sternly, affronted that the other man might think that, even though he was probably half right. Whilst he might have been happy, per se, that Chloe's distraction had gone, Dan did not welcome it when he realised the impact it had on her. It was like a light in her eyes had been turned out overnight. "That's why I thought you'd left her pregnant 'cos she was all over the place, crying over the slightest thing, hysterical over nothing, even shorter fuse than normal. Didn't understand why and she wouldn't speak, but no, you don't realise the impact you had when you left man. Was it really that important?"

It was. "Look Daniel, the issue I had - well it goes back a long way. Something I had a falling out over with my whole family. It needed my personal attention alone", Lucifer offered as Dan just nodded, seeing a uniformed office run over to them.

"Detective Espinoza, Coroner's arrived!"

"This one is Mr Morningstar's, Leon. He can deal". Despite their apparent quorum over Chloe and Trixie, Dan still didn't want to be wasting his time.

"Thank you" Lucifer responded with a plastered on smile. "I will be with you forthwith...Officer Maxwell" he concluded, taking a look at the badge on the young man's chest.

"Look" Dan started as the officer retreated. "For Chlo and Trixie's sake, I agree. Let's just see if we can get on". He paused, wondering whether to say what he was going to but, screw it, why not? "Listen why don't we have a night out? We need to get to know each other". Lucifer almost laughed too loudly at the absurd prospect. "Come on, why not? Me and Ella, you and Chlo. It'll take some getting used to, I grant you but..."

"Very well" Lucifer replied. It was not so much What Would Lucifer Do but What Would Chloe Do. Murder him for agreeing or try to see if a path could be found? "If we must, Daniel, if we must".

With that Dan was off to leave the consultant to the body and Chloe's folly. Lucifer watched him go. What on earth did Chloe ever see in that man? He sighed and wandered over to Officer Maxwell and the Coroner, feeling his cell buzz in his pocket, smiling as he saw it was a message from the Detective.

_C: 'Going to have to take day off. She threw up in the car on the way home. Rogers knows x'_

L: "Is it catching? x"

_C: "Don't think so. How's the scene? x'_

L:"Decomposing x'

_C: "Great. Call me later? x'_

L; "Course x'

_C: "Love you x'_

By the time that last text landed, and Lucifer had sent a jokey_ 'I love me too. Forever x'_ text back, he suddenly got the feeling he was being watched. Distracted for a second by that strange creeping sensation of eyes drilling into his back, he received another text from Chloe. This time it was all in emojis, well one emoji, and that was a raised middle finger. He laughed to himself and slipped his cell into his pocket. "Mr Morningstar?" Lucifer raised his eyes to see a familiar face. "Ah, Brian" he smiled seeing the Coroner's officer standing a foot or two in front of him. "What are we facing today?"

"Well," the officer began, the pair walking back towards the grave that was still surrounded by officers and now a white tent to prevent the nosy crowd that had gathered catching more than an eyeful. "Female, in her thirties or forties, rate of decomposition your guys suggest is about a year. Damn lazy whoever dumped her here though. Barely even tried to cover her up. No wonder the witness was in such a state". He paused. "There's been a few of these, eh? Four, five?"

"Six" Lucifer replied, still slightly distracted.

"Any ideas?" the officer asked, but Lucifer could tell he was fishing by the sheer tone of his voice.

"No" the Devil replied. "I'm just a body covering for the detective whose looking into it all". He hoped he said it with such vagueness that the officer would give up asking anymore questions. Thankfully he did.

"Are you happy we remove the body? Forensics are done" the coroner's officer asked, gesturing over his shoulder.

"Yes, yes of course" Lucifer replied, swinging his head around to the gate of the cemetery. He knew there was someone there. "Excuse me" he said politely. "I have one thing to attend to". The Coroner's officer nodded and walked away watching the enigmatic consultant positively stalk his way down the path. It took all of Lucifer's might not to smite the man down who he saw before him. He was about to open his mouth when the almost mirror image of the Devil himself stepped out from behind the stone column of the gate.

"Brother" Michael began, holding his hands up in either surrender or peace, he was not sure which.

Lucifer breathed deeply, counting to 10, 20, 100 before he dared open his mouth. "What?" he spat. Michael stepped back at the venom he heard in his sibling's tone, seeing his hands and fingers flexing and fighting that anger and betrayal left rumbling for millenia from boiling over onto the surface. At the sight of his twin, Lucifer could barely control the Devil that lay so very close to the surface. Thousands of years of hatred threatened to burst through and resisting the simple need to just_ fly_ at his brother was becoming harder and harder to suppress.

"Brother" he repeated, seeing the arteries in Lucifer's neck start to throb. "It is not with the greatest pleasure that I come to find you but...I felt it was time that we spoke. I wanted to warn you".

"Of?" Lucifer replied, not keen on engaging in more than he had to with this particular individual, feeling that flame licking its way up from his middle and ready to pounce. Lucifer could feel his body warm, just the same sensation when his Devil form took over. Fighting it and fighting it even more, they were interrupted to move aside to let the Coroner's van carrying the body out of the gate. It was the distraction Lucifer needed and he felt the temperature drop. "To what do you need to warn me of? Fire and damnation _again_? A plague of locusts, _once more_? _A visit from Dad?"_

"The other human is close" Michael replied, keeping his voice as calm as he could. "The treacherous wife of Adam".

"You describe Eve as treacherous?" Lucifer laughed. "You brother should take a long look in a mirror and then perhaps return to me with your warnings".

"Samael..." Michael starting expecting to see scarlet in his brother's eyes yet inside he saw a blank look. "I would rather have this out in private, away from these creatures, but you give me no choice. I wish to call a meeting. The five of us. I have things I wish to say".

"Take it up with Gabe..." Lucifer replied, suddenly preferring the company of a rotted body and the Douche. "I am not interested brother. I really don't know what it will take for you ill-bred catalogue of cretins to get the very clear message!"

"I also wanted to apologise" Michael offered.

"For what?" Lucifer responded, stepping forward and crowding his brothers space, looming over him and using his slight height advantage for good measure. "For failing to be the loving brother I thought you were? After all this time?"

"For interfering with the Miracle Child" Michael offered as he cast his eyes down.

Lucifer smiled slyly and stepped back. "Oh you mean touching up, dare I say sexually harassing, or is it _sexually assaulting_, my woman in a ladies bathroom of _my_ club?" It was a bit much but Lucifer was in no mood. "How cheap of you brother. You always wanted what I had. I should have thought you would try your luck with Chloe".

"It was inappropriate, Samael. I was not thinking" Michael replied, entirely genuinely. "This world you inhabit has temptations and I am rather afraid that I fell for them. I was weak and apologising directly to her is the only way".

Lucifer laughed, casually slipping his hands into his pockets again. "Before or after I set her on you? She has razor-sharp talons brother and isn't afraid to use them".

Michael touched his jaw. The sting of her rather accurate punch still lingered in his mind. "I gathered that". He straightened up. "I know you don't trust me; it has been a long time Samael and...I told father of my contact with her as I felt he would want to know that I had met her. Our conversation strayed into the incident at your club".

"Ah" Lucifer replied, a huge confident smile cracking across his face. "So that's the reason you are so contrite. Daddy dearest kicked your bollocks for roughing up his miracle has he?!"

"He did", Michael responded. "But I came back to find her to apologise and help find Eve. _Genuinely_. Father and I... we have conversed and I see the error of my ways...I see I failed in Adam's mission to retrieve his wife and I must make amends".

"To apologise? What for? For fear I would react in such a way that you might come to some injury, brother? Are you scared of me?" Lucifer was still suppressing laughter formed from this abiding hatred towards the archangel. "Or are you scared of father, or perhaps is it the Miracle Child? Is it her you are frightened of? You know those claws of hers do wonderful things when they are dragged down your bare skin..." Lucifer gave a pronouced and very deliberate shiver; memories gladly locked up inside of that sensation but not afraid to share if it pissed his sibling off even more. "You know, just like when they are wrapped around my cock...but you don't know how warm and willing humans can be, or do you?" Lucifer paused and examined his brother's face. "Don't tell me you had your wicked way with 'Adam's treacherous wife' ?!" he concluded with what was only described as an evil laugh.

"Stop playing brother with your pleasures of the flesh. You are impossible and no, I have not engaged in relations with Eve" Michael responded, his voice tight yet knowing this was solely provocation and there was, _is_, a higher purpose. "This is serious. If we do not find the other human, she risks unbalancing Hell if she is left with control. If she has left Demons with the ability to run the place...who knows what has escaped."

Lucifer sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Come to Lux on Saturday morning. At eleven. No earlier." He shook his head. "Father really roasted you didn't he?!"

"Samael" Michael began, the pair feeling that itch to get away from each other. "Do you really like this life? Here? On Earth?"

"Yes, I do as it happens!" Lucifer replied, eyebrows raised as Michael watched as his brother walked away and back to the scene.

Once back at the station, still disturbed by his brother's appearance, Lucifer slid into Chloe's seat and popped her computer on. "Hey, you've changed Decker!" Ella 's voice came from behind him. "Done something with your hair?! I like the colour..."

"Miss Lopez" Lucifer smiled as she rounded the desk. "What can I do for you today? The Urchin felt the need to heave her breakfast over her teacher. Detective is at home in all likelyhood covered in her offspring's vomit." He paused, seeing her linger and clearly having a question on her mind. "Is it something I could assist with?"

"No" Ella replied, shaking her head. "Actually yes", she began sitting down on the chair with a thump. "These bodies...Do you know anything about them? Like, how they are showing up now? You know it's not kind of every day you get something as, well, soooooo interesting as this and I was kinda..."

"I am not entirely sure what you mean Miss Lopez" he interrupted, feeling the pinch of her questions. Had she and the Douche been discussing it all? Yes, they probably had been and this was the last thing he wanted to explain. The less people that knew his identity the better.

"It's just..." Ella stuttered. "Well you left soooooo quickly after and I guess I put two and two together and miscalculated in a _seriously_ far out way". She let out a self-conscious laugh.

"Miss Lopez", Lucifer replied, trying to keep his voice as level as possible. Yes of course they had been talking about him; suddenly turning up after all this time. Her questions were just the same as the Douche's. "I will never lie to you..." He was interrupted by Detective Espinoza and for once in his life Lucifer was happy, yet again, to be in the douche's presence. He was not sure what he could say without lying and he simply did not wish to to that. Hopefully playing dumb worked. Again.

"Rogers wants you", Dan said, directed at Ella. "New job".

"Speak to you later big guy" she smiled, tapping Lucifer on the forearm. "Duty calls! Catch up later, yeah?"

Lucifer smiled thinly and felt his cell buzz in his pocket. Before he took it out, Dan sat. "So any thoughts on these bodies then?"

"I thought you weren't interested?" Lucifer asked, sitting back, ignoring the message for a second.

"I'm not, but Chlo is" he replied, leaning on his elbows on the desk. "I am just looking out for her, make sure there is no trouble". Was that a threat the Devil heard in the other man's voice? Like he stood a chance anyway!

"I am leaving it to her" Lucifer responded. "I am merely being led and doing her bidding for however long she wants".

Dan smiled and nodded. He saw defeat as it slapped him in the face; at least for now. "Listen, Friday for the night out?"

"As you wish" Lucifer responded, feeling his cell vibrate again. "Excuse me" he said waving the device in the air. Dan just nodded and wandered off as Lucifer tapped in his pin code. It was a message from Amenediel which he promptly ignored for the second time, texting the detective instead to see how she was. When she didn't respond in the next few minutes he assumed she was just busy with the urchin, so he decided he would call Amenediel instead; at best realising that he probably needed to tell his other brothers about Michael, if he must. Get it over as all that would happen would be that his annoying sibling would just keep calling until the Devil's patience snapped. Lucifer stole away to a spare interview room where the conversation was factual and perfunctory and to his delight, rather short. That done, he had more important things on his mind, one of which was Chloe as he had still not heard from her and that nagging feeling in his chest was starting to annoy him. Driving back to the station, Lucifer had wondered if Michael had already been to see her. It was only a fleeting thought at first, and easily dismissed, until he was sitting in heavy, sundrenched mid morning traffic and boredom and paranoia got to him. He never felt like this before; stressed and worried until he met the Detective. Up until now he had buried it so far down that it was never noticeable but since they became somewhat closer his fiery protectiveness, bordering on possessiveness, was barely concealed below his skin. As he sat at her desk again, he threw her another text, jitteriness in his fingers as once more she failed to respond.

Sending her chair skittering back he decided to go to her beach house instead and with a little celestial help he found himself, seconds later, opening up the front door. "Detective? Detective? Are you here?" The questions were louder as each one came.

Chloe almost ran from the back yard to the sitting room. "Lucifer?" she exclaimed. "Keep your voice down, Trix is asleep!"

"Are you alright?" he asked, urgency still clear in his voice.

"Yes" Chloe replied curiously but confused too. "Just doing some tidying in the yard". She held up a pair of gardening gloves. "Just while I had time to kill". She cocked her head to one side. "I just saw your texts now. What's happened?"

"Nothing, nothing, nothing" he responded, smiling and sliding his palm up her cheek, pressing his lips to hers in a desperate and searching kiss. He thought about telling her about Michael, but decided against it in his own twisted logic. "I just wanted to see you".

Chloe blinked, carefully examining him for signs of injuries or at least a scuffle, but found nothing so at least he had not been in a fight and he didn't smell of cheap perfume or have the stereotypical lipstick on his collar. A fight and another woman were firmly dismissed for this sudden affection filled appearance so she decided to believe him that it was simply wanting to see her face.

"How is the urchin?" he asked, letting her slide from his arms and towards the kitchen.

Chloe sighed as she flicked the kettle on. "Breakfast and a piece of chocolate cake in the back of the fridge that I didn't know about. I think the cream had gone off. She said it tasted funny but she still ate it and well, poor Mrs Novak go the lot straight down her blouse in the middle of geography class. She should have known better", Chloe continued, slighty annoyed at her daughter. She was 12; should know better by now. Lucifer smiled and reached for her again, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "But she'll be fine", she concluded, snuggling closer to him as the kettle boiled in the background.

Maybe he would leave the 'Double Date with Detective Douche' and Michael to another day.

Yes, she had enough to worry about as it was. Let's just leave it as it is.


	33. Chapter 33

**Warning: thoughts of suicide/self-harm mentioned**

It had been a long day for Detective Decker, interspersed with a chase through Santa Monica and another session with Dr Goodman. Chloe was not feeling the most chipper after it all but she was looking forward to tonight; if only to take her mind off things. Linda and Ella were already downstairs and after a quick undisturbed shower and change in the penthouse, she was now hovering watching Lucifer make himself a whiskey-laced coffee.

"Do you mind?" Chloe asked, lingering in the penthouse kitchen and pushing a strand of hair behind her ear; feeling slightly guilty that she had managed to impose child sitting duties on him at the last minute.

"Chloe..." Lucifer responded, wandering over to her, coffee in hand. His other hand rested on her upper arm and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "Go out with the Tribe. It's fine." She opened her mouth to say something, almost to protest when he interrupted her. "And if I have to tell you for the fifteenth time, Detective, no" Lucifer continued, taking a sip of the piping hot liquid in his hand. "The urchin and I will be perfectly fine. It's ancient history for homework today. I'm good at that because I lived it". Chloe smiled and shook her head; still not quite able to wrap her senses around the fact he had been on earth and beyond for millennia let look barely touching forty. He carried on. "She will educate me about why on earth she has to do this human torture called 'homework' and you will be downstairs in Lux, then you will come upstairs, and sit on my ..."

"Luc-i-fer!" she sang eyes opening wide, hearing the squeak of Trixie's sneakers on the wooden floor and she was followed swiftly by Maze.

"Couch and undoubtedly fall asleep in a drunken stupor...What _did_ you think I was going to say?" he asked, smirking at her embarrassment but hoping she realised that he was joking.

"Hey Decker" Maze started as they stepped closer. "Small human has a question".

"Oh?" Chloe asked, spinning around as he stood behind her surveying the scene.

"Yeah" Maze responded, giving Trixie a gentle push on the shoulder to encourage her to speak. "Go on kid. She won't bite..." Chloe just raised an eyebrow at that but it was clearly something that the demon and her daughter had been discussing.

Trixie licked her lips and stepped forward, bracing herself for another 'no'. "If I do all my weekend homework tonight, can I take Maze to the beach tomorrow? It_ is_ the weekend, and..." Trixie was about to make her case for the prosecution, having practiced it in her head.

"Of course you can. If you make your own bed when I ask and homework is all done for Lucifer and you do exactly what he says tonight" Chloe smiled and looked up to Maze. "As long as Maze is okay with it?"

The demon just nodded, putting her hands on Trixie's shoulders. "Small human and I want some quality time..."

"Well then, that's okay!" Chloe responded smiling although she saw a slight hesitance flitter across her daughter's face and a question needed asking. With everything that had gone on this past year she was never sure just how her daughter was feeling or what she was holding back for fear of upsetting those around her, particularly her own Mom. "Are you alright Trix? Is it something you need to talk to me about?"

"No, nothing Mom" the young girl squeaked but Chloe wasn't convinced. Experience told her that it was not a good time, but sensing the atmosphere, Lucifer put his hands on Chloe's tight shoulders mirroring Maze with the urchin to distract her.

"Come on then you miniature overlord", Lucifer started his voice calm and cool but Chloe did not relax, her brain suddenly going into overdrive as to what might be worrying her daughter. "Time to deal with this ridiculousness..."

"Trix, go and get all your homework ready, put it on the table on the balcony", Chloe offered. It was a nice night and here was no harm. The young girl shot off and Chloe turned to her man. "Right!" Chloe smiled, smoothing down her deep blue dress. "Time to go" she smiled at him, Maze hovering in the background with a 'come on Decker' look on her face.

"Well enjoy my hostelry" Lucifer started, brushing a thumb over her cheek that she immediately leant into for the comfort and warmth that he offered. "Remember anything you all want, you have". He leant down and kissed her like it was the last time he was going to see her. Without company she might have dragged him to the couch for a bit of impromptu bonding before going downstairs to the club but she had to make do with the kiss.

"Jeez Lucifer, put it away before I puke" Maze moaned, folding her arms. "She's only downstairs".

Chloe ignored her. "And if Trix needs me, _for anything,_ come and get me" she insisted, placing her palms on his chest.

Lucifer didn't even have time to respond. "Mom will you go _please_?" her daughter hollered from the balcony. Chloe breathed, smiled and dotted a very brief kiss to his lips before the two women strode across the floor and into the lift.

Almost two hours passed and the four women were bunched into a booth, the table littered with glasses filled with violently coloured cocktails and shot glasses. The club was packed, undoubtedly after having heard that Lucifer Morningstar was back in town. Tonight, however, he had chosen not to play but there was still that crackling in the air that he might stride across the floor and select his playmate for the night. Rumours that he had been tied down were laughed off, but Chloe could sense that buzzing in the atmosphere that he might just appear. Deep inside she hoped he might; she would see these people fawn over him as though they had a chance and know he was unfailingly hers. It did give a girl confidence.

"So tell me", Maze began, sliding up to Chloe's side and breathing vodka shots into her face. "He won't talk to me any more...is he taking me back to Hell with him when he goes?"

Chloe turned to her, totally unable to stop the lump that appeared in her throat, piercing through even under a haze of several Flaming Dragon's Blood cocktails. "Don't know, Maze. Don't know". It was all she could come up with without screaming at the demon that he was going nowhere. Not if she could help it. He had stayed longer than she, or indeed anyone, had expected so far but that didn't mean that tomorrow would not be different.

The demon huffed, slinging an arm over the detective's shoulder, landing heavily and breaking Chloe out of her introspective mood. "Hey maybe when he goes, we can give him a proper send off. How about it? Sure he can take on all four of us..." Chloe grimaced. "Come on Decker" Maze continued, deliberately provoking her. "He's Lucifer. He's _rampant_ and some of the things his brain comes up with. Eh, Doctor?"

Linda let out a knowing laugh. "Yeah!" she replied, another shot down and lining up the next one. "Guy has a fertile imagination. I'll give him that!" she giggled, not realising that Chloe was becoming increasingly unhappy. "That boy has skills, I tell you, _skills_!" she emphasised, slamming another glass onto the table which made Chloe jump and Maze laugh like the Wicked Witch of the West.

"And he gets stuck with Little Miss Missionary Position here!" Maze offered, hugging Chloe closer to her; the latter almost spilling her drink with the sudden assault.

"Now that's not fair Maze" Linda replied, feigning that professional demeanour when she was more than hammered but she did see Chloe swipe at her face. Guilt at her own comments immediately set in. "You don't know anything about Lucifer and Chloe's sex life and we should change the subject".

"Yes! Stop it! Please!" Chloe protested, absolutely mortified that this was suddenly a topic of conversation. Yes, alright, she was easing into this rather intense new relationship, but her boundaries were perhaps not as rigid as her outward persona made out or as limited as the demon thought. Not that she was about to discuss it now.

"Am I the only one who hasn't had sex with him?" Ella asked; a drunken and confused frown on her face as she leant forward, propped upon her elbows having been watching the dancefloor move as one until she heard Chloe's command that they stop.

The three other women replied, almost in unison with a solid_ "Yeah"._

Maze leant bodily across the table, releasing Chloe from her grip as the other woman slipped back against the leather seats. "He's only upstairs, girl. We can distract Decker's gremlin if you wanna hitch a lift for a loooonnnnngggg ride?"

"Maze!" Linda scolded, pushing her glasses up her nose like a victorian school teacher.

"Don't talk like that. Trix is not a gremlin, she's...she's my baby that's getting too big...", Chloe protested, glass half way to her lips as she felt her emotions rise, dread washing over her like it was the first time she realised that next year she would be a mother to a newly teenage daughter. Fuck, she was getting old. Or at least that's what she felt. A _rampant_ boyfriend - if that is what he was - that yeah, he'd get bored of her soon enough or get pissed off with Trixie's hormonal moods or hers for that. Sure he had stuck around for now, but...

Ella laughed awkwardly, pushing an empty glass into the pile. "He's Decker's now. I'll pass, I think..."

"Meh..." Maze offered, moving back over to her seat and slumping back. "The offer's there..."

"Do you know what?" Linda started, unsteadily sliding off her seat and wanting to break the atmosphere and the watery eyes of the Detective. "I think we should dance".

"No Linda!" Chloe mithered before, between the doctor and the forensic scientist, they took hold of her wrists and dragged her out of the booth to the dance floor. The three melted into the crowd, moving with it until Linda noticed they were missing something.

"Hey, Chloe?" she shouted, leaning closer and blowing hair out of her face. "Where did Maze go?"

"No idea" Chloe responded, just as loud, quickly scanning around them to find that their companion had disappeared.

In reality the demon was not so far away, striding hastily down one of the many corridors that wound their way around the building. At first she thought it might have been a trick of the light; just the way a shadow fell fooling her into thinking she had seen her. With the noise of the club slowly drifting away as Maze moved through each door, she let them swing shut with a deliberate bang until she knew she had found her quarry. Maze stopped still, resting her fingertips on the wall. The only room at the other end was a storeroom and there was no way out except back from where she came. Carefully she crept forward, feet silent and moving gently, stalking her prey. _ The best bounty hunter in the business._

"Eve?" she asked quietly. It had to be her; she had seen her; she had sensed her heart beating from the shadows. "I know it's you. _ Please_". Maze heard a scratch on the floor and sure enough a figure emerged from the darkened doorway of the room. The demon was not prepared for the feeling that washed over her, a deep thump of fear and trepidation that she had not truly felt before yet seeing her, it was like she had finally arrived home. Lucifer's words, however, spun in her head as the other woman stepped closer. She was wearing a long red silken dress, a deep neckline adorned with a ruby necklace and her hair long and free.

"He said...he said you were in Hell", Maze stuttered, the only words that would form as her mind raced.

"I was" Eve replied. Her voice was still that sweet, almost ethereal tone that she knew from before. Her eyes however, held a hardness that Maze had not seen before, even in their joint bounty hunting ventures. She blinked as Maze licked her lips, desperate to just hold the other woman yet maybe Lucifer was right. The demon could not deny the injuries she had seen. "When you..." Maze started, yet heard a door open behind her.

"Maze?!" It was Ella's voice. "Where you gone girl?"

The demon's head snapped up as the other three arrived by her side. She had no idea how they found her and Maze stood, trying to block their view, until she saw Linda's eyes – followed quickly by Chloe's who was standing behind her therapist – both seeing the dark haired woman with gold strands running through her hair standing slightly to the demon's side.

"Chloe..." Linda warned, her voice a dim and distant noise in the red haze that was starting to cloud the Detective's brain at the sight of this woman. "Think carefully, very carefully about your next act..." the therapist continued.

"Why should I?" Chloe asked, eyes still fixed over Maze's shoulders.

"Because I might wanna give a girl a helping hand and you have to share and share alike", Linda responded, stepping forward and squinting at the dark haired woman; invading her space. Maze was shoved aside to where Ella was, leaning on the narrow corridor wall. Chloe almost smiled at the doctor's loyalty. "What do you want here?"

"I came to see you Chloe, find you, to tell you I am here to take Luce home, where he belongs", Eve offered. She sounded convinced and confident that she would achieve her goal too. "Where he and I can rule together. The demons already think I am his Queen. They take orders from me" she added proudly.

"You bitch" Chloe breathed from her space just from Linda's side. "You fucking bitch!" With that she took a swing at Eve and slapped her hard across the face, hearing a distant 'woah' from Ella. _It must have been the alcohol, Ella thought. Did she mention demons and being their Queen and Lucifer ruling somewhere_? _Too trippy, man._ _Nah, someone must've slipped me somethin'._ Eve held her face, stinging from the sudden assault. "You nearly killed him and you have the...the cheek to walk in here an' suddenly tell me that you wanna take him home...? He's home...here with me..!" Chloe was not shouting by any means, her voice laced with sheer hatred instead.

Her words were halted though when the other human almost ran at her, grabbing Chloe's arm and pulling, nails scraping and for a moment or two they tussled, until the Detective took a handful of dark, curly hair and yanked hard almost sending the other woman to the floor. Linda and Ella both jumped out of the way, even though a 'go get her girl' had sneaked from the Doctor's mouth before she could stop it. In reality Eve had no chance against LAPD training.

"Hey Decker!" Maze shouted, pressing a hand to Chloe's shoulder and pushing them apart. "Keep it polite!" The other three women looked at Maze in astonishment. The demon actually trying to _break up_ a fight?!

"He must be missing me" Eve began, brushing her hair back over her shoulder in a dramatic flounce. "All that time in Hell, how many hours we spent together...you know,_ together just like old times..._"

"Don't lie!" Chloe warned, feeling Linda take tightly hold of her elbow.

"Yeah, right..." Ella started, shunting herself off the wall and weighing in. "You wanna know where he's been really, you know in_ truth_, gettin' it? Decker, that's where and Luci don't lie, unlike you..." Ella was in her face now, gesturing wildly with one hand and Maze yanking the other back. The demon was torn. Lucifer was her Master but Eve was her love and she knew this was not the Eve of old. _Hell poisons humans._

"Oh" Eve responded, a sly smile eeking its way across her lips. "I know where he's been these last few weeks. I do like your bedroom wallpaper, Detective".

"You've...you've been watching us?" Chloe asked, her voice breaking as her stomach dropped.

"From time to time. Vegas was more interesting than seeing him pawing you but yeah..." Eve offered with a casual shrug.

"I don't understand" Chloe stuttered, the haze of anger meandering along with the alcohol in her blood. "You kept my little girl safe an' protected her, but you did all of that stuff to Luce. He said you were poisoned...Humans don't belong down there and its made you ill".

"Look" Maze began, needing to choose her words carefully, particularly as Ella was still very much in the dark about where Lucifer had been and indeed who he was. "I wanna talk to her. Let me deal with it. _Please_". Chloe paused at the plea. She knew Lucifer's brothers wanted Eve to take her back and her hand almost went to find her cell phone in her clutch. It was almost as though the demon read her mind. "I will talk to her and I will take her to Gabriel" Maze offered, hearing a squeaking sound of fear from behind her but Eve had nowhere to run past the four. "Go away Decker" Maze snarled, getting too close for comfort and for the first time in a long time, Chloe felt a stab of the old demon and the fear that occasionally manifested itself deep inside of her. "Go away, all three of you. I can deal with this."

After a moment of discussion, Linda, Chloe and Ella returned to their booth letting Maze take care of business. With no reason to mistrust her, knowing her loyalty to Lucifer, they topped up the alcohol levels in their blood at an astonishing rate, trying to forget the altercation, until it was time to call it a night.

Upstairs, the man himself had decided to wait up for her, even though his eyes were closing rapidly, craving the warmth of his bed and her body wrapped around his. Approaching 3 am, he heard the lift doors go and the sound of heels on the wooden floor before a warm body flopped down the couch beside him, snuggling up with a sigh. "Well good morning my Queen" he breathed as he enveloped her in his arms, not realising the irony of it having had no part of her conversation, if you could call it that, with Eve. They had not seen Maze again that evening.

Chloe felt so safe, warm and happy, except all of a sudden she burst into tears. In the quiet, without distractions, the walls came tumbling down again and the closed fist embedded in her chest suddenly burst open."I'm sorry Luce" she started, swiping away a tear. "For everythin..."

"You confuse me, Detective", he replied, craning his neck to look at her. "You have nothing to be sorry for".

"I do", she responded, pulling away from him and sitting up before tottering over to the balcony.

"Chloe", he started, getting up quickly after her, "if you are going to go on the balcony take those ridiculous shoes off!"

She bent down, flashing all that was his at him, dumping the shoes and flinging them. He had seen her like this before as memories of that first night home began to assault him. "Chloe what happened today? Did you go and see Dr Goodman?" Lucifer asked. He had not had time to ask her when she first arrived and in truth she had not offered it up either.

"Yeah", she replied, leaning on the rail of the balcony, watching the city and its lights move below her.

"And I sense this has something to do with it?" he asked, leaning next to her, cautious as she was clearly very drunk.

Chloe raised her head and bit back more tears. "Somethin' like that an' other thins. He made me realised...realise...what a despicable person I am". She felt his palm rest on the base of her spine, rubbing gently but his comfort only caused her tears to fall even harder_ because she did not deserve it._

"Did he say that to you?" _Bloody doctors, bar Dr Martin of course. Cause more harm than good.  
_

"No" Chloe replied, shaking her head, a few strands of dark hair moving in the breeze. "Not directly, but we talked abou' what I did to you 'fore you left. I should've fought harder for you. I should've told Kinley he could stick it all up his ass and then Eve wound't have... I knew you, Luce. I know you. You...you...bollocks...I messed up". Her head was in her hands as the lights below her blurred.

"You did Detective and so did I" he sighed, silently smiling at her use of a British curse. Maybe he was rubbing off on her in more ways than one. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her away from the rail. "Kinley got you when you were vulnerable. He knew what he was doing. I had some particularly special and rather novel words with him downstairs believe me". Mindlessly torturing Kinley with Chloe's beautiful face vivid in his mind's eye was the only pleasure he got down there. Every strike to his skin was for Chloe, every mark, every drip of blood; they were all for her each and every day until he could do it no more.

"Did you?" she asked, a spike of curiosity rising from within her.

"Hmmm..." Lucifer replied. "Particularly enjoyed the part where..." he stopped, seeing her look up to him with wide, and far too interested, eyes. He decided to leave it there. There were things she didn't need to know and this was one.

"I do love you. Didn't realise how much 'til you went..." she said, leaning her cheek on his chest.

"And I love you too and likewise", Lucifer responded, gently letting the waves in her hair fall from his fingers.

"Your mine" she muttered. "All mine now an' I'm gonna...If Michael or your Dad...I'm sorry. I thought you'd gone forever an'...an' ...I nearly did it..." She had talked to Dr Goodman about this today too - quite of her own violition - and it had conjured up unpleasant memories. Whether it was sensible or not to tell Lucifer, it was far too late now.

"Did what?" Lucifer asked warily.

She pulled back from him and mimed drawing a knife up her forearms; following the artery. "So easy to just take one a Maze's and just..." She did it again; it having seriously gone through her mind that if she took a demon blade she would bypass the Silver City and go to him. "But told Linda an' Dan an' everyone ' watchin' me like a...like a..." Her head dropped.

The fact that she had even thought about killing herself...no wonder everybody was so cautious of him now he had returned. He was cautious of himself too. One false move...The fact that she had had even considered taking her own life just so could join him was a concept he had not thought of but now it was as though one of those knives was twisting and grinding through every bone and sinew in his body as the guilt that she suffered so overwhelmed him. "But you didn't because you have Beatrice to live for..." he responded, gathering her up again. _And I for one am so glad that you did._

"Yeah...I know an' I know you'd never forgive me" she offered. She sounded so young; so child-like.

"I wouldn't. You have so much to give the world, Detective, and by the time you go to the Silver City I might have earned my place back at your side".

"Don't wanna go there" she replied, a frown splitting her forehead. Chloe looked up and placed her palms on his cheeks as he breathed carefully, trying to keep his newly found emotions in check. He was so unused to affection and just that simple gesture filled his heart with a gathering need. "You've been neglected all your life, your Mom, your Dad...Trix gets you, Linda gets you an' I think I do too an' when I die..." _I wanna be with you every day. Screw your Dad.  
_

"Ssshhh, you do get me Chloe, you do". He looked sideways, realising she had appeared upstairs on her own. "Chloe where _is_ Linda?"

"Passed out in Lux. Amen...Amened... Your brother's takin' her home", she replied, cheek going back to rest on his chest.

"Ella?"

"With them" she muttered seeing the puddle of tears that had soaked into his powder blue shirt and drunkenly patting the damp material as it molded itself to his chest.

"Maze?"

"Dunno" Chloe replied. "With Eve I thin..."

"Pardon?" Even Lucifer heard his own vocal chords almost give way. He released her and held her at arm's length so he could get a proper look at her face even if it was streaked with tears and soggy mascara clumping on her eyelashes.

"Luci...I got in a fight" she confessed, her eyes rimmed red and apologetic to him at least. She would never apologise to the woman he confessed to her that he never loved.

"You got into a fight?!" he exclaimed, casting his eyes up and down her body. She looked uninjured but very, very ashamed at her actions. He had to get her back on track with regards to Eve, but she continued, an explanation forthcoming.

"Yeah" Chloe replied, feeling awful about it. "With Eve. I wanted to scratch her eyes out an'... but Maze stopped me..."

"Wait, Eve was downstairs?" he asked. Chloe felt his palms tighten on her arms, but her blood was almost one hundred percent alcohol and she could barely feel anything from the neck down.

"Maze promised she would take her to your brothers" Chloe started. "She was looking for me. So she got me". Chloe frowned, flexing her wrist as a soreness set in from the force and odd angle of the slap. Lucifer breathed in, mind racing and he could feel own blood starting to simmer. "Did she come up here?" she asked. Chloe saw him shake his head. "Luce..." Chloe started, but he could see that look in her eye.

"No she didn't" he replied, more firmly. "Do you think I would let her within 10 yards of Beatrice?" She shook her head in response. "Or me for that matter". If he saw her, Lucifer knew full well he would not be able to control his response; it was enough that the fire was igniting just by being told, let alone seeing the creature. This 'turning over a new leaf' did not extend to her; not after all she had done. Chloe nodded carefully, mind too addled by tiredness and cocktails, to take anything but his word. Lucifer sighed loudly. "Right," he started. "You... into bed". _And I'll make sure the place is locked up like Fort Knox. Fuck the lot of them. Again and several times again and more._

"I need...I need..." Chloe actually wanted an ice cold glass of water but something was not letting her articulate it.

"You need a slapped arse - now move!" He turned her and tapped her on the backside as she stumbled forward even with the minimal force, barefeet cold as they tapped against the marble flooring.

"That didn't hurt Luce" she replied, not turning back but wandering back into the penthouse, padding along and starting to shiver from the LA night and tiredness.

"It wasn't meant to, Detective" he replied with a smile and followed her.

"If you wanna slap my ass you can y'know. Hard as you like", Chloe offered, wiggling her way now past the couch in a vaguely sexy but very inebriated way. Now in any other circumstance he might have taken it up with her but physically and psychologically she was not in that place. Neither was he when it came to that tonight. _He might hurt her._

"Detective..." he started. It was like herding a cat as she wandered towards the lift again and he almost had to run towards her as she zig zagged across the floor. "Chloe! Bedroom and bathroom is that way...up the stairs, Angel."

As she turned, for the first time, he noticed the three thin red lines on her shoulder tip. Lucifer picked up his pace again. They looked too much like the scratch marks that once adorned his body. "Where did these come from?" he asked, holding onto her upper arm, making sure he did not grip too hard.

"Eve" she replied casually, looking at her shoulder and pressing the skin like she hadn't realised they were there until now.

"Right!" he exclaimed, pushing her up the two steps to his room by the waist. "Into bed. Now!"

She would sleep and he would be scouring this building from top to bottom before he even thought of joining her.


	34. Chapter 34

**I should dive in here before the chapter starts to say 'thank you' to everyone who has reviewed and viewed this story, so 'Thank You'. I am so pleased you are all enjoying it and I am grateful for the encouragement to carry on :) Read on! **

Chloe woke slowly and carefully in Lucifer's bed disturbed to the sound of child-like giggling. It was far too young for Trixie and for a moment she wondered if she was hearing things. Instead she opened her hungover eyes to Charlie, who was pulling at the black silk bedclothes and trying to climb up to her.

"Hello, baby" Chloe croaked, sitting up seeing him raise his arms up to her to be lifted. She brought him to sit on the bed with her, the room briefly going in and out of focus with the effort. "Is your Mommy or Daddy here?!" She smiled as the little boy babbled nonsense at her in response before he began playing with the silver bracelet that still adorned her wrist from last night. "Come on" she said, shifting about so she could disentangle herself from the sheets without letting him go. She was not too sure whether Lucifer would take to a one year old dribbling on his expensive sheets. "Let's go and see whose here, shall we?"

Chloe got up and with the boy on her hip, she glanced at the clock. 10.01am. Not too bad and it was Saturday after all; she was not at home but she did hope that Lucifer had managed to feed her daughter as she wallowed in his bed. Before she walked out into the penthouse though, Chloe looked down to check she was decent. If Lucifer had undressed her last night, she could almost guarantee that she wasn't. Instead she found herself in the navy blue and white spotty pyjamas she had packed knowing she would spent Friday night at the Penthouse. Maybe Night Chloe wasn't as drunk as Morning Chloe thought she was and she had managed to dress herself properly for a change. She wandered down into the penthouse to find Amenediel walking towards her.

"I'm sorry, Chloe" he started smiling sympathetically, taking the boy off her. "Did he wake you up?"

"It's fine" she smiled, handing the child over. "It's nice to see him...and you too!" She could see Lucifer walking across the penthouse floor towards them. He was smiling at her but there was air of concern about him too that she immediately felt in a pulse of adreneline rush around her body.

"Luci and I just needed to talk about a few things" Amenediel replied, nodding and Chloe had half an idea what he meant as she breathed carefully trying ward off the panic that had started to instill itself within her. There was not a day that went by that she did not feel those butterflies swimming in her stomach the moment she woke and today was no different.

"Oh, okay" Chloe replied, scanning the room and not seeing or hearing her daughter. "Where's Trix?"

"Linda's taken her for breakfast", Amenediel responded. She had thought that Lucifer might have made her breakfast but she supposed it was better than the youngster was out of the way if there were things that needed discussion that she might not understand or even might frighten that stoic little girl.

"Oh...is she in a fit state to?" Chloe cringed. Even though Trixie was her daughter even she would struggle with a too enthusiastic child this morning with the volume of free alcohol they had consumed between them, particularly if Linda felt as bad as she did...

"She is a little hungover but she said the fresh air and waffles would cure it..." Amenedial laughed.

Chloe smiled, again, pushing her hair out of her eyes as Lucifer appeared by his brother's side. "Go back to bed, my darling. It's Saturday", he said, leaning up to take her cheek in his hand reaching forward to kiss her firmly. "Amenediel and I have some business to attend to this morning..."

"Have you seen Maze?" she asked tentatively, an ever present memory of last night's fight still clear in her mind.

The brothers looked at each other. "No" Lucifer replied. His voice was short and Chloe could tell they were both less than pleased. "Nobody has".

She had slapped Eve last night with all the anger she had felt towards her for Lucifer's injuries and she dare not think what he might do if his once-loyal demon was shielding his torturer? "She was meant to be taking Trixie to the beach" Chloe responded, knowing how disappointed her daughter would be but if she had gone off with Eve to what? Protect her? If that was the case, Chloe wondered if she wanted the demon near her child.

"I know" Lucifer responded, gently rubbing her arm, hoping to comfort her. "That's why Linda has her. I don't want Maze anywhere near her. She erm...she didn't take Eve to my brothers..." There was no harm in Chloe knowing this reasoning.

"No?" Chloe's voice almost went from underneath her but she should have realised; should have known. Still though she was pleased, and a touch surprised, at Lucifer's foresight or was she? He had already told her that he would do anything to protect her offspring and he had done just that.

"No." Amenediel responded gravely, Charlie wriggling to try and get down from his father's arms. "We have not seen hide nor hair of either of them; nor have Gabriel or Raphael and...well, we are all concerned".

"I should have just called you". Chloe's face contorted into frustration and anger at herself for not thinking clearly when she saw Eve last night. Another thing to add to the ever growing pile of guilt that was stacking up silently inside her. It would have been so simple just to get her cell and keep her there until Lucifer arrived.

"No you shouldn't" Lucifer replied, having failed in trying to find her himself. If there was anyone that could, it would be him or his brothers. "You thought you could trust Maze. _I_ thought you could trust Maze too". He had scoured that building up and down and back again as promised, but they had clearly fled and he had returned to his bed, no, their bed, flopping down beside her sleeping form in frustration and taking far too long for his body to succumb as his mind raced with snippets of that time in Hell. He had not slept, lying beside her all night listening to her breathing. Chloe nodded and yawned. Maybe that was what had stopped her picking up her cell. _She thought she could trust her._ "Go back to bed" Lucifer pleaded. "It seems that we are having that grand celestial meeting that I have been trying to avoid".

"Do you want me to stay?" Chloe asked. She might not understand half of it but at least he might feel then had someone on his side; even if she just sat there and held his hand. Lucifer looked at her and shook his head.

"No", he replied, smiling genuinely at her. "I will be fine. It will be fine".

In reality she was almost on the edge of ripping into his entire family yet once returned to bed though, Chloe was asleep again within minutes.

"Our brothers should be here soon enough" Amenediel began as they sat down, letting Charlie crawl about over the plush rug. Lucifer was far too concerned about the unfolding meeting than sticky fingers all over the several thousand dollar furniture as the boy cruised past him pulling on his trouser leg to help himself stand up.

"We should have been able to trust Maze" Lucifer despaired, shaking his head as he placed his elbows on his knees, watching Charlie out of the corner of his eye as he headed over to the closed balcony doors. "She _knows_ the consequences of defying us. It is more than her life is worth".

"Wait Luci, we don't know whether she has told her or hid her for that", Amenediel warned.

Lucifer shook his head and laughed ironically. "You are actually defending a demon brother. Have you finally lost your tiny little mind?"

Yes, several years ago Amenediel might not have said that but all this time amongst humans had changed him and to think it used to fill him with such anger and contempt to be amongst the simple creatures. How he had wondered what Lucifer had been doing 'vacationing' in this place. "I believe Maze's emotions towards the other human are complex, but who is to say she won't walk through that door with her?" his brother offered.

"If you wish to believe that" Lucifer replied, shrugging his shoulders. His default setting was mistrust. "The last thing we need is Maze out there defending her and you brother have gone soft".

"I doubt that" he responded. "Your feelings towards Chloe are multifaceted, mine are to Linda. Imagine those thoughts and feelings for a demon", Amenediel mused, seeing his brother nod. Okay, he would give him that. Demons, well most of them, were simple creatures that lived to serve and were not capable of emotion of anything more than anger and pride. "Have you thought more about what we previously spoke about? Assisting us?" Amenediel, from his discussions only just last night, knew his brothers were coming here this morning for a decision.

Lucifer put his head in his hands. "The detective, Chloe...she believes I should help you".

"Perhaps listen to her," Amenediel offered, watching Charlie toddle closer to the balcony doors. "You know the reasons why we are doing this, Luci". Lucifer had already told him of Eve being in Lux last night and that Chloe had somewhat of an altercation with her. "There are good reasons and, think about it this way brother, she _hurt_ Chloe" Amenediel emphasised. He knew it shouldn't have done it - and it was underhand - but Chloe was his brother's weak spot and he saw a flash of recognition on Lucifer's face, only to be interrupted by Charlie banging his hands against the glass of the balcony doors.

"Does he always do that?!" Lucifer asked irritably, swinging his head around to the source of the noise; the boy clearly enjoying himself leaving handprints over the carefully cleaned surface.

"Constantly" Amenediel replied with a wide smile. "But he's 12 months old. He's exploring. You need to spend more time around children if you plan to stay here, brother".

"No I don't" Lucifer replied sharply. "Beatrice, of course, she is an exception and when the consequences of your weakness is sophisticated enough to speak in full sentences, it will only be then that I consider conversing with him on a familial level". Amenediel just nodded as both brothers sank back into their seats, losing the thread of amiable conversation as Charlie continued to totter about the penthouse giggling quietly to himself as he wandered.

"Have you made any progress with this case you are working on with Chloe? The reburied bodies?" Amenediel asked trying to strike up a dialogue again whilst they waited.

"No" he replied. "Chloe thinks it might be the Mayan bodies but we can't join the dots." Lucifer sighed again but immediately heard the lift ding and out walked his other brothers - Raphael, Gabriel and Michael and the room immediately tensed as the devil stood up and straightened his perfectly tailored shirt; Amenediel shooting him a warning look. "Calm your tits, brother" Lucifer muttered, gesturing for his other three brothers to sit down. "I shan't be creating a fuss when the Detective is in earshot". That was for when she wasn't.

"The Miracle Child is here?" Gabriel asked as they sat. It was not as though he did not know that Samael had formed an attachment to her, just as Father's plans had unfolded, but he had thought that Samael might be more discreet about it knowing that this meeting was to take place. This was not for human consumption, even one of her status.

"And she is asleep and I intend her to stay that way too", Lucifer warned. It comforted him that when they went, as far and as fast as possible as far as he was concerned, that she would be waiting for him.

Gabriel nodded. It was in all likelyhood best that she was not here to listen to their conversation. "I gather that filthy demon was meant to bring the other human to us". Both Amenedial and Lucifer nodded, the latter biting back a further comment as to how his brother described her. His feelings towards the demon were deeply contradictory now. All these years and he thought he had her loyalty.

"It will not be too difficult, brother" Michael noted. "She will be found soon enough and hopefully she will bring the other human down with her. Demons have a scent about them. It is repellent. "

"I forgot about that..." Lucifer replied not realising he had said it out loud.

"Yes that is a consequence of spending too much time on this planet Samael", Raphael offered.

"Yes alright Raphie" Lucifer responded, irritated again by his brothers constant attitude towards the earth and its rather wonderful delights.

"Samael", Michael started, his voice grave and wanting to get to the point quickly before this descended into chaos. "You know what we wish of you"

"Coming from you dear brother that is rich. You started all of this", Lucifer laughed. "Your weakness for a pair of boobs and bright eyes brought Eve to me in Hell, caused me harm, and you are so audacious as to suggest that you wish something of me when you have done nothing but..." he paused, "nothing but hurt me for almost my entire existence".

"Samael", Gabriel began, surprised by his brother's admission. "We have not come here today to talk of old ground and old grudges. We have to make progress and resolve this situation as soon as feasibly possible and to Father's satisfaction. We think we have a plan that might, well, bring that satisfaction to us all".

Lucifer snorted, ready with more than a quip or two to mock his siblings. "Go on then. Fulfil me brother, please, fulfil me with your bright idea".

Gabriel was about to open his mouth to talk through the 'grand plan' when the lift dinged again and out bounced Trixie first followed by Linda. "Oh!" Linda remarked, seeing all five brothers turn to look at her. "Hello!" She wore a sudden, confused frown. Even thought she had known they would be speaking, it was still a sight to have five angels standing before her, politely rising to their feet to greet the visitors.

"Doctor!" Lucifer smiled, ever the genial host, gesturing for them to walk forward. "And urchin. Are they churros?" he asked curiously seeing the white bag in the offspring's hand. "Oh do sit down you fools!" he suddenly said to his brothers, almost as an aside, before Trixie could answer.

"Yeah" Trixie replied, walking across to him, knowing his weakness for all the junk food that Mom never let her have, even though Trixie had paid for them herself from her chore money. She eyed up the other men, only of course knowing Amenediel. "Want one?" she asked Lucifer.

"You do know your mother will have words to say over you having fried dough and sugar" Lucifer warned. He even surprised himself that something so sensible could come out of his own mouth. Usually he indulged in whatever was put in front of him but he knew Chloe felt different when it came to her child and for the first time in his life, he wanted to please another person rather that just indulge his own.

"Not if you help me eat them all first" she replied, selecting one of the sweet treats and passing it to Lucifer. He looked up and took a bite. Gabriel and Michael wore faces liked smacked backsides at this sign of familiarity and comfort with a human. The others were smiling and Lucifer decided to make the introductions.

"Beatrice, my brothers, Gabriel, Raphael and Michael. You both know the other one and Michael, my therapist and Charlie's Mum, Dr Martin". The adults nodded to each other but Trixie was looking at the other men curiously.

"Are you all angels?" Trixie asked.

"We are child" Raphael responded, smiling at her bright brown eyes. He could see why Samael was fond of her."It is a pleasure to meet you at last".

"Cool!" Trixie replied, before she turned to Lucifer, gently holding him around the waist. She had stopped cannoning into him like an over-excited puppy yet feeling a strange sense of wanting to protect him in her own way in front of these strangers. It was Gabriel and Michael that she did not trust. "Where's Mom?"

"Asleep urchin" he replied, taking another bite of the churro he had been offered. "Now why don't you and Dr Martin go to the beach instead of having to listen to us talk about intensely boring things? Take Charlie". Lucifer looked over at Linda and the look on his face was enough and she took the hint. The expression on Amenediel's face only added to the feeling that it was best they were not there. She picked up her son who was toddling towards her and nodded to them.

"Where's Maze?" Trixie asked as she was almost hauled out of the penthouse, looking back and forth between the adults.

"Let's talk about it there" Linda soothed, shifting Charlie onto her hip. She already knew about the supposed delivering up of Eve that never occurred. She did not want to think of what those five men - five angels - could do when angered.

Once he was assured that they were alone again, Lucifer gestured for Gabriel to speak and almost an hour later, of what might be termed 'healthy discussion', Lucifer downed a glass of finest Whiskey as out of the corner of his eye he saw Chloe pad down the steps from the bedroom.. "Still No Maze?" she asked, sleepily rubbing a eye with the heel of her hand. Lucifer shook his head. "Where's Trix?" In all honesty, Chloe had expected to be woken up by her by now although she had noticed that this past year, her daughter had almost stopped diving into her bed to wake her up. Maybe it was because of how unstable Chloe knew she had become or just simply because her child had started growing up.

"Linda took her to the beach with Charlie instead" he offered, putting the glass down and walking across to where she was standing on the bottom step.

"So we're alone?" Chloe asked.

"Seems we are," he smiled, stepping across and sliding his palms over her waist, taking a handful of her ass and lifting her down onto the floor. He could get used to her waking up in the penthouse, particularly with that rather satisfied sound she made when he squeezed and palmed her body. Lucifer bent down and drew his lips up the sensitive skin of her collar bone.

Chloe gasped as she felt his breathe on her neck; relaxing as her arms went around him. "That is good..." she replied, meaning she was pleased that they were alone; putting aside the sensations he was creating within her. "You can feed me then. I'm dehydrated and I _need_ bacon, eggs, french toast..."

Lucifer smiled, grabbing hold of the back of her thighs, spinning them both around and, with a joyous free laugh and a squeal from her that he had not heard in a while, planted her on the piano as her dark hair swirled from side to side. Chloe shivered from the cold contact on the varnish, even though her pyjamas. "Stay there", he said, kissing her quickly before he wandered across the penthouse. Chloe, however, was not going to sit on this freezing cold piano top for anyone; even if she guessed it was probably one of his many fantasies and one of his milder ones at that. She slid off and followed him into the kitchen.

By the time they made it to the beach, Trixie was itching to ask about Maze again but wondered if she should. Instead she kept quiet until it became too much, but the doctor's response was not what she wanted to hear. They had been distracted by moulding sandcastles and paddling in the shallow water, but once they were sitting, the youngster had to ask as she was about to burst.

"Trixie, I am not entirely sure Maze will be here today". Linda's voice was calm and it had that tone of voice she used with her patients.

"Why not?" Trixie asked, patting the sand for Charlie to sit between her legs."I wanted to talk to her about...things" she added, swallowing the last word. Maze was her friend, her protector, her teacher but she knew something had happened. They were all acting strange. Lucifer, his brothers, Linda...

"Is it a topic you can talk to me about?", Linda asked. "If you are not comfortable speaking to your mother?" The child was hesitant, but she knew what a therapist was and how good Linda had been to her Mom so deciding to be brave, Trixie dived in.

"I can't speak to Mom" Trixie started quietly. "It's about her and Lucifer. I want him to stay but Mom...Mom keeps crying and I don't want to upset her even more to ask if he's going to go away again".

"Oh, sweetheart", Linda soothed, a lump rising in her throat. "I think he wants to stay and your Mom does too but his family" Linda continued, wondering how to tread carefully in this situation, "they are a complicated bunch of people and they expect more of Lucifer than I think he is prepared to give, particularly because of how he feels towards your Mom and you. Well all of us, even Ella and your Dad. I think he's starting to understand that he has a new family now and wants to make peace with it all..."

"I know he's the devil and Charlie must be an angel baby" Trixie responded matter of factly, "and Mom thinks that I don't understand but I do and I like him. I don't think he's bad or evil. I think he loves Mom".

"Trixie, I _know_ he loves your Mom, but he doesn't want to hurt you or hurt her" Linda replied before a question sprung to mind. "Did _she_ tell you about Lucifer, you know, how he is the Devil?"

"She did" Trixie replied, wrapping her arms around the toddler who had started to lean on her, ready for his mid morning nap. "But I knew already and I told her I did. She told me when he left that he'd gone back to Hell and not to think he might come back but he has done and... ".

"Do you think he makes your Mom happy?" Linda asked.

"Yeah" Trixie smiled widely. "She doesn't shout any more but she still cries. She doesn't think I could hear her but I want her to stop crying and if he stays, I think she will. When he stays the night..." Trixie caught herself before she said it, but the look on Linda's face gave her no choice but to carry on. "She does spent a lot of time with him and sometimes, well, I'd like to have pizza and watch a movie with her, just us, but...I'm scared when she gets upset and I don't want her to forget about me..."

Linda sighed. "Oh darling, I think it's just because she isn't sure if he's going to stay. Your Mom, I think she is scared too and is spending so much time with him because of it. Adults get frightened too and not realise they might be...well, they might be hurting people around them" Linda surmised. It was far, far more complicated than just that but for now, it would suffice. "And she would want to know you want him to stay too. You musn't keep quiet just because you think you might upset her - she might like to watch a movie and have pizza with you too without Lucifer there if you ask. I think she will be pleased if you spoke to her and I promise, she loves you more than anything in the world. She would choose you every single time, believe me".

"I know" she smiled. "But we have to make him stay for Mom" Trixie stated resolutely, feeling better that she had told someone and that frightening feeling in her stomach lifted. "If he stays, I think Mom will calm down and I do want him to" Trixie added, thinking that the doctor might think she wanted him out of the way. She liked him and liked staying at Lux.

Linda laughed at the simplicity of it all. She wished it was that easy. "I think we should work on it together, what do you think?", Linda replied, taking a glance at her watch as her companion smiled widely and nodded. "Come on" she continued, getting up onto her knees to unravel Charlie. "I need to get back and your Mom _will_ be wondering where you are".

They drove back to Lux in relative silence, even for Trixie and Charlie in combination, Linda ready to drop her off when she realised she had left Charlie's coat in the penthouse. Trixie had offered to get it and ran off, punching the number code into the panel to the back door of the building to let herself in. She dare not say she learned it off her Mom years ago and hoped Lucifer would not ask. Trixie was just about to walk in when she heard a scratch behind her; her heart starting racing in panic and Trixie reached for her cell phone in her coat pocket. If Lucifer could fly like all angels could he would be there in a flash...

"No need, its only me" Maze responded as she walked up. She was met with a face like stone off the child as her eyes wandered to the other person behind the demon. "Small human..."

"Yeah?" Trixie's voice was flat and filled with mistrust at the sight of her 'friend' before her. She had grown a lot recently and her views on the world, and people, were changing, much like she was both physically and emotionally and trust had become important.

"I wanted to apologise for not coming to the beach today. I had to help a friend" Maze responded, in need of forgiveness from Trixie yet again.

Trixie eyed Eve suspiciously. "O-kay" Trixie replied slowly. "If you wanna keep your girlfriend secret that's fine". Trixie responded, pointing at the woman in the red dress. She knew who she was. She was the one that tried to steal Lucifer from her Mom and she did not like her for that fact alone. Now she was trying to steal Maze it seemed. "But it doesn't mean I forgive you for running out on me when you agreed to go to the beach. You knew I wanted to talk to you about private things"

"Child..."

"I am not a child". Maze could see the fury on her face.

"I didn't mean to run out on you" Maze pleaded taking a tentative step closer, but the child wore the same cynical and determined look as her mother. "Eve needed help".

"Yeah", Trixie replied. "Course she did..." With that Trixie was gone into the building and slammed the door behind her, leaving the contrite demon in the darkness of the alley.

Chloe looked up from the stodgy, grease ridden and frankly mouthwatering breakfast Lucifer had cooked for her to see her daughter run in. "Charlie's coat is on the back of the couch", Chloe smiled through a mouthful of hash brown, seeing her daughter collect it and go to rush off downstairs again.

"Urchin?" she heard, stopping in her tracks, as Lucifer wandered in holding his hand out for the coat. "I'll take that. I need to speak to Dr Martin. Sit with your mother. She has enough food there to feed you both". She had started eating properly again and to be frank he did not care if he had to cook every day for her to make sure she did. His remark, however, was met with a giggle from the girl and a pulled tongue from her mother. Chloe had resisted raising her middle finger to the departing form of the Devil in front of her daughter.

"Mom.." Trixie started, plopping down on a seat opposite her and stealing a slice of bacon from her mother's plate. Mom was still in her pyjamas. "I met Lucifer's brothers! Gabriel, Raphael _and_ Michael" she continued proudly but saw her mother put her fork down and realised she had clearly said something wrong but she was not sure what. "They were nice, well Raphael was. I liked him. The other two were miserable".

Chloe just nodded, swallowing the remainder of another mouthful of hash brown carefully and deftly changed the subject. "Tell me about the beach then, babe"

"Can I have another piece of bacon if I do?" Trixie asked mischieviously and watching her mother slide a slice to the edge of her plate with her fork.

"Course you can babe, you always can..." Chloe smiled. "Come on then, tell me about the beach!"


	35. Chapter 35

Armed with two take away cups of steaming hot coffee, Lucifer positively skipped down the stairs into the precinct. Three days had passed since the 'grand celestial meeting' and he had a peaceful three days of no brothers, bodies or deviant demons. He had also had two days without seeing Chloe's face so he was looking forward, not back.

"Hey man..." Dan started, intercepting him with a hand to his arm before he reached his destination. His voice sounded like a warning; not to the devil but what he might meet when he got there. "Come here a minute". The Detective gestured for Lucifer to follow him and he ended up in the lab, finding Ella, and Dan carefully closing the door behind them both.

"What's happened?" Lucifer asked tentatively, flashing a glance between the two. He had already seen that the other Detective was not at her desk and apart from a few text messages, he had not actually spoken to her either in the last 48 hours. Pre teen urchin trips to the hairdresser and soccer matches were firmly not his thing but his first instinct was something was very, very wrong. She had seemed so much better recently too and the negative thoughts immediately eradicated the spring in his step.

"I'd stay away from Chloe for a while", Dan offered, peering over his shoulder to check she had not reappeared since he saw her shoot off towards the bathroom in what he knew was a black cloud of rage that he had not seen, well, since Lucifer left the last time.

"Why?" Lucifer asked, still armed with the two cups of coffee. Ella had that look of sympathy and understanding on her face that he had seen many a time before.

"She's been in with Rogers" the other man continued. "But if you don't plan on staying away, I'd slip into supply and put some ear defenders on before you speak to her, or expect that coffee over your suit". Lucifer was about to reply when Chloe shot past the lab door, ponytail swinging in its own personal fury as she walked – no, strode – past to her desk. "He's pulled Chloe off the investigation over those reburied bodies".

He knew immediately her anger was much more than just being told to stop investigating; it was far deeper than that and directly related to him and, very possibly, no very likely, their future. "Oh", Lucifer responded, it was more of a puff of air. "Really?"

"On Ella's life" Dan replied, as the forensic scientist gave him an 'oi!' look in response as she pottered around trying to distract herself from the screech of Chloe's chair along the floor and her need to run outside and just be her friend. "No idea why but that's what she just practically roared at me when I asked why she was upset". All three turned and looked out of the lab window; Chloe now returned to her seat and brushing her fingers over her cheek bones.

"Good luck man!" Ella smiled patting him on the shoulder blade. "If you need sanctuary, I have gummy bears..." She waved a glass jar full of the little gelatine creatures at him although he could tell she was not entirely joking.

Lucifer cleared his throat and flexed his palms around the cups. He had faced worse foes than a furious Detective although he would give it to her that she was up there with some of them. "I am sure I will be fine Miss Lopez. Perfectly fine". _But save them just in case._

As soon as he shut the lab door behind him, Lucifer straightened his shoulders and without trying to contemplate any further, took purposeful steps towards Chloe's desk. He placed one cup down on the battered LA Dodgers coaster on her desk and the other – his – on a scrap of ripped up paper. She was squinting at her computer screen, tapping a reply to an email that was probably terser than she wanted it to be but people did ask her such dumbass questions. "Tall, non fat, sugar free cara..." he started, only to be cut off when she thrust her arm towards the cup and pulled it closer to her. "Detective, Chloe if you want to go somewhere, and..."

"I don't need this now Lucifer", she replied, taking sip of the scorching hot beverage. Her voice was flat and yes, she had been crying. Her eyes were more red rimmed than usual.

Lucifer breathed in carefully but ploughed on. "I was about to say I could find a place where you can scream at the world with no audience and no judgments. I know a few secluded island spots that I can take you there in in minutes...one that belongs me specifically in fact..." He trailed off.

That comment seemed to break something inside her and Chloe slumped into her seat. She did not pick up the fact he owned an island. "There's a morgue up in Ventura" she began, seeing him sit opposite her and seemingly willing to listen. She sounded even more tired as each syllable left her lips. "It was closed down just after I started here. I'd forgotten it even existed. Rogers said it had been broken into; six bodies gone and we find six disturbed graves. He said they were ones from the Mayan – positively identified - and then promptly told me to leave it alone otherwise he would discipline me. He sees it as case resolved. All the missing bodies recovered, no CCTV, no witnesses...or at least that is what he says..."

Lucifer considered her news. Was it actually a blessing in disguise? "Yes but" he started, "somebody has stolen them. Last time you lectured me about not paying attention, Detective, you did say theft was considered a crime".

"As I told him" she responded, taking another welcome sip of coffee as a slight smile adorned her lips at his comment, "but he won't even pass it on. They picked them up and forgot about them or hoped they would be forgotten about. He said they are going to cremate them..."

"Slightly illegal" Lucifer responded sarcastically as he too picked up his cup.

"Yeah" she replied, turning the coffee from hand to hand. "Interfering with legal burial but when you cover up a little bit of demon bodysnatching a few cremated remains is the least of your worries". She had whispered that bit. There were too many people around and she didn't know who knew what but it was heavily laced with barely disguised sarcasm too.

Lucifer sighed. "But who took them?" he asked, his mind racing. He was more and more convinced by her theory and the morgue theft proved it. "Whoever it is, it was for a reason".

"He won't let me find out and well, I don't want to lose my job", Chloe responded.

He sighed. "No Detective you are quite right". It wouldn't stop her; or him for that matter, taking a little look on the side though if something fell into their laps but even he recognised that they had to tread carefully over this. Chloe knew it and Lucifer knew it so it was almost unwritten. "So what's instead then?" he asked.

"Nothing" Chloe responded with a shrug of the shoulders. "Well paperwork until something else drops" she continued, gesturing at a healthy pile of blue files on her desk. "You can go home if you want to".

Lucifer was immediately confused. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Well duh" she responded, mustering up a smile as she teased him. "Its paperwork. You know the boring stuff you have a deep ingrained aversion too".

"I do not have a deep aversion to you Detective, so I will help you". He wheeled his chair to her side of the desk sitting far too close, but Chloe did not care with the smile he gave her. "Besides, there is something I need to ask you".

"Oh?" Chloe asked intrigued and yes she was surprised, as she picked up the first file on the pile. In truth, she was glad it was going to a quiet day, so far at least. She had another session with Dr Goodman at 3 and the way it went last time, Chloe was not looking forward to it. She knew, however that it had to be done for her own health and that of her daughter.

"Yes" he replied, one elbow on the arm of her chair, ready to read over her shoulder. "I was thinking of going for a drink with Daniel".

"Well whatever rings your bell, Lucifer", Chloe replied giving him a quick glance. "But there are better options than my ex-husband out there for a bit on the side. That said though I suppose I should thank you for being honest with me".

"I would never do that to you Detective" he whispered, quite horrified she would even think it. "I meant you and me with him and Ella. It was his idea" he added quickly just in case Chloe thought he was mad enough to suggest it. Chloe's eyes widened in the hope he realised she was teasing him, but it seemed he had not picked up her subtle hint. "But if you don't want to I understand" he concluded.

Chloe turned in her seat so she could face him, but she kept her voice low. "Luce..." she started, lips twitching and realising she could not kiss him. "I was joking. Do you really think I would even contemplate you fancied my ex-husband?" Lucifer felt just the tip of her little finger brush his. She hoped in that little gesture he took even just a second of comfort. "I'd admit if it was anyone but Ella, no, its fine" she smiled but he was still uncharacteristically serious.

"I would like us to get on better, for you and for your offspring", he offered, voice just as quiet as hers. Whatever might happen over the course of the next few days or weeks there was something inside him that wanted him to go with a clean slate or at least one that was as clean as it could be in the circumstances.

Chloe smiled at his responded, feeling comforted. She still couldn't kiss him; even on the cheek so she settled for squeezing his knee under the table. "Thank you, Lucifer" she whispered. "You don't know what that means to me".

He nodded and smiled, pleased he seemed to have neutralised her mood. "Pleasure, detective!" He leant closer to her. "Although that offer of an island where you can scream to your heart's content is still open you know..."

"Shut up".

The double date with Dan and Ella rolled around far too quickly and as she stood in the bathroom of their chosen venue Chloe was not sure what she felt. It had been a horrible week and she and Lucifer had barely had any time together. He had spent most of his time at Lux to get a handle on the place again; wondering when and if Maze would turn up and she had thrown herself into night shifts, more therapy and a murder of a teenager that made her bones and heart ache even more than she ever felt possible. The once they had even shared a bed this week she had just crashed and even now all she wanted to do now was throw herself into bed with the devil as her comforter. Instead she found herself waiting for Ella in the bathroom of a club that certainly wasn't Lux. In truth, it was grim. The mirror in which was looking was cracked and the picture of Lucifer's face at finding his Louboutins almost sticking to the floor was ingrained in her head all night, even if it did make her giggle inappropriately.

Upstairs, and to a degree of pleasure and an unnerving nagging deep inside her, her current what - boyfriend? lover? - was deep in friendly conversation with her ex-husband. It was probably a good idea that Chloe had departed with Ella as, unbeknownst to her, she was the subject of the two men's present discussions. Somehow they had got onto how Dan had met her. "I got the naked chick from Hot Tub High School" he said proudly. "Was the envy of the station when they realised who she was".

"It is a treat of a film, I will give her that", Lucifer offered, his tongue slightly loose as she was apparently still within a distance that made alcohol affect him, even though he could feel that buzz ebbing away.

"She shoulda stuck with it" Dan offered, taking a sip from the beer bottle in his hand. "But her Dad; he always came first for her. I never met the guy but I knew how much she adored him. He was her stability when she was a kid, you see. Her mom...well I like Penny but it was career first, home life second". Dan paused seeing though that Lucifer was listening intently. "Him dying...it nearly destroyed her. Every time the anniversary came around...man...I never knew what to do to help her...It got better as time passed but still..."

The couple of times he had met Penelope Decker even Lucifer could almost feel the strange tension between her and her daughter and he could well imagine Dan had lived through a lot in their short marriage. "But you were her home Daniel. After that" Lucifer replied.

Dan nodded dolefully. "For a while". Lucifer was not the greatest at reading human emotion but he could see the detective was regretful. "Look man" he started suddenly leaning across the small table that divided them. "I screwed up with Chloe, even though she tried her best. Fair and square. I fucked up so much. Work first, them second. I did what her Mom did to her, but Jesus..." Lucifer flinched. "Jesus man, we had some good times you know?" Dan continued. In his loose gestures, Lucifer could see he was well on the way to being drunk. "Some good, good times. Like when she was pregnant with Trix. She was just so..._round_... so perfect".

"Yeah thanks for that enlightening image Daniel", Lucifer replied, his whiskey glass looking almost empty, raising a hand to the bar tender whose eyes seemed to be on the devil all night. He hoped Chloe hadn't noticed but he truly needed an off switch.

"No, seriously she was just so awesome with Trix...she was carrying my kid. _My kid _and she was so just fucking heavenly man. Just looking at her_..." _Dan shook his head in wonderment and sat back.

"Daniel...don't be crude" Lucifer scolded. The other man's comments hit a protective nerve. "I am sure she loved you leering at her when she felt like she'd been hit by a truck".

Dan dropped his head. Her words to him were clear as day._"__Because I feel like shit Dan! I can't stop crying; I have to sit on a fucking ice pack because my...because, oh yeah, it looks like a 7 and a half pound baby forced its way out of it! My whole body has turned against me and you come home when she asleep and do nothing for when she's awake. I need you to help me!"_

"She's talked to you..." Dan replied, a moment of clarity hitting him in the alcohol induced relaxation of his limbs and tongue.

"She has" Lucifer replied sharply as he shifted in his seat. "You were never there".

"When I was" Dan responded, but he only heard a suspicious noise from the man opposite him. "One day you'll see man, one day you'll see. When you and her have a kid..."

"I doubt that" Lucifer responded with a shake of his head; wondering if anyone else thought that that was where they were going to end up. Marriage, kids, the picket fence...it gave him the shivers. "I'm never going to experience anything like that. Not with her, not with anyone".

"Look", Dan started, "I know Chloe's probably said no more..."

"She has" Lucifer interjected quickly, "but that's not my point. Even if she wanted another child..." He paused. Was there any point in hiding it? "I can't have them. I am what you might call shooting blanks".

Dan's expression dropped at the seriousness of the response. "Shit man. I am sorry about that".

Lucifer shrugged although oddly comforted by the other man's sympathy. "It's not news to me. I've known for a long, long time". _Millennia, in fact. _"And before you say it medical science might be one thing but even that can't fix my problem". _Dad made sure of that. No little devil's wandering the earth or anywhere for that_._  
_

"Does Chloe know?" Dan asked, putting the green bottle on the sticky table between them.

"In a roundabout way" Lucifer replied.

Dan sighed and frowned. "I guess I put too much pressure on her for another after Trix" He shook his head and laughed. "She freaked on me on that one. Then her mom weighed in for another grandchild or two and well...I guess you could say Chloe shut up shop".

"Well you tried to impose on her body" Lucifer replied tersely, draining the last of his glass as another one appeared from his attentive bar tender. "Her body, her choice as far as I see it. She doesn't want another kid, why should society or indeed _you_ force her to?"

He would admit he was surprised that the flash club owner had some level of understanding or empathy as to other people's feelings. Maybe he was right; whatever it was had happened when he was away, it had affected him perhaps more than he would admit. "Since when you were a feminist?" Dan asked, altogether too mindful of the playboy image that the man had and his actions and his words did not match.

"Always" Lucifer responded, just a touch offended. "You didn't birth the offspring or put your life on hold to care for it".

Dan shook his head. "Yeah man, you know you're right. You know you aren't the dick I thought you were".

"I'm pleased" Lucifer replied flatly as Chloe slid into the seat next to him and Ella next to Dan. Both men smiled at their respective partners.

"Dare I ask what you were talking about?" Chloe asked, looking between the two men. Dan looked guilty; Lucifer, well looked like Lucifer as he sipped from his freshly filled glass.

"Your boobs" Lucifer responded, feeling slightly sea sick as that mouthful of whiskey had just taken immediately ramped up the fuzzy feeling in his head the moment she slipped into the seat beside him. That said though, he had deliberately not drunk too much, on guard for all things celestial but the see-saw of sober-Chloe-drunk-sober-Chloe- drunk was driving him to distraction.

"Yeah funny", she replied, sliding up his jacket sleeve to look at the platinum Vacheron Constantin watch he wore. "Come on, we've got to be in work tomorrow"

"Yes_ Mom_" Dan smiled teasing her and she shot him a good natured death stare._ Yeah that was like old times and maybe the four of them would be alright._

"You three go and get a cab" Lucifer started as they all stood up. "I'll attend to the bill".

"Nah let me man... " Dan interjected as the pair wandered towards the bar, the detective patting the devil on the shoulder. Chloe just nodded her head towards Ella and left them to fight it out between themselves. Once they made it outside, the pair of them were almost dancing with the cold as they waited in the street for their respective boyfriends. "Where _are_ they?!" Ella asked, rubbing her arms and looking back at the door of the bar to see no sign of Lucifer or Dan. The bar was closing and discharging its drunken residents into the alarmingly cold LA night but the two men were not amongst them.

"No idea, probably some more male bonding or a fistfight over whose paying!" Chloe laughed, secretly pleased if it was the former. She was cold now too; regretting the sleeveless dress she was wearing and thoroughly anxious for a warm cab and her bed.

"Are they seriously friends now?" Ella asked as the wind whipped her hair in front of her face before she batted it out of the way.

"Dunno" Chloe replied, swinging her head around, swearing on her life she saw familiar movement in the dark alley behind them both. Before she knew it, her feet were taking her into the blackness and, distracted by hailing a cab, Ella turned to find her friend walking away.

"Decker?" Ella called after her, checking for Lucifer and Dan again, but received no response from the other woman. "Hey Decker, where you goin' girl? If you're gonna upchuck, I'll hold your hair for ya!"

Chloe spun around to see the other woman trying her best in high heels to run towards her. "Ella, I feel fine. Go home with Dan. I need to speak to Luce". Her eyes tracked up to see to the two men walking towards them. Somehow the Devil heard heard the Detective and he looked at her confused as the cab pulled up and Chloe almost shoved Dan and Ella into it with an apology and a promise of an explanation tomorrow.

"What's going on?!" Lucifer asked. In her presence he was still slightly buzzed from the alcohol he had been consuming and was thoroughly flummoxed by this rapid change in events. She dragged him by the wrist and pushed him up against the alley wall to shut him up."Hey, I like this type of communication..." he smiled, running his hands around her waist and landing on her ass.

"No, not now" she warned and pressed her lips together; eyes flashing to the street beside him. "I think I saw Eve".

"What? Where?" he asked. She felt his grip on her body increase and it was almost to the wrong side of uncomfortable.

"In this alley" Chloe replied, seeing a slight redness to his eyes. She could see there was a chained up door at the end but even though she was braver than most, she did not want to go there without him. Was the First Woman stalking them or was the Detective's mental state taunting her? She had not drunk very much at all tonight, knowing how emotional it had started to make her recently so she knew it must be _something. _Her instinct was telling her so._  
_

"How sure are you it was her?" Lucifer asked, squinting due to the lack of light as a spark of anger lifted inside him.

Chloe breathed in the warmth of his body and attempted to calm down. "90...95 percent...but I lost sight of her... if it was her"

"Right" he responded, thinking through a plan. "Where is the urchin again?"

"Amenediel", Chloe replied.

"Right, " Lucifer repeated. "I'll call him. We go back to your house tonight, collect some clothes and then you and the urchin are staying at Lux with me for a few days". He could see she was about to object. "And I told you before" he carried on, gently brushing a wisp of hair from her eyes. "It's safer there. It's secure. There are cameras everywhere you look and Jake and Franz will be more than happy to pull some extra shifts for what I plan to pay them. I will assign one to you and one to the urchin".

"We don't need your doormen acting up as bodyguards" Chloe insisted but the look on his face said enough. "Oh g...good grief" she whispered, glancing into the street again hoping nobody could see them. "They are celestial too".

"Call them distant cousins of mine that got bored just the same as I did" Lucifer responded, letting her go and taking her hand so they could leave.

"Lucifer, wait..." she replied, stopping still in the mouth of the alley.

"No" he replied firmly as he turned on his heels. "I'm serious about this Detective...I saw Michael the other day and..."

"I know, Trix told me she met him." If her eyes could turn red he would be staring at his reflection, even if she had not meant to say it right now. He ducked his head; immediately realising he should have said something the moment it happened but he did not want to talk about it when they were standing, and she was clearly freezing, in a rancid alley. "Luce, you saw him and you didn't tell me and I don't know how I feel about that". It was not a question and she wriggled her hand out of his before she began to step away, unable to stop that feeling of betrayal inside her. Mind you she was one to talk about that.

"Are you going?" he asked, lost.

"Yes!" she responded; her voice tired as she walked away from the alley. There was a cab conveniently on the other side of the street. "Are you coming? We need to go and get Trix". She could see, however, he was looking past her at something.

"In a minute" he said taking long strides across the street, somehow dodging the traffic until he reached the other side. "Mazikeen! Do not move from there!" If Chloe had heard him it would have reminded her of how he sounded in the Mayan. Commanding, controlling, powerful, _angry._ The demon stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him. "So, this is an unexpected pleasure, do you wish to tell me where you have been?" he began, hands shoved into his pockets. Anxious after these crossed words with the Detective, he was not in the mood for pleasantries.

Maze looked up. She had wanted to find him. "I had to consider a few things".

"Mmmmm" Lucifer responded cynically. "And I have been left to wonder just exactly who you 'considered' them with..."

"I lost her" Maze confessed, unable to raise her eyes to her master, because that's what he was wasn't he?

"What, pray tell?" he asked. "You_ lost_ her?!"

"I lost her, Lucifer okay?!" she replied angrily, folding her arms defensively over her middle. She had thought of taking her straight to Gabriel that night but something inside her stopped it. Instead, Maze had tried to employ some of those human feelings she seemed to have developed and tried to break down the hold that Hell had on the other woman. Talk to her. Examine her motive. It failed though. "She has help. She told me there were two demons with her".

Lucifer set his jaw as a thousand expletives ran through his head. "Which ones?"

"Deran and I think she said Girol" Maze responded having not seen them but it was as far as her gentle interrogation had achieved.

"Bugger" Lucifer replied, his mind racing. "Particularly bugger to Girol being here". That was one demon that was almost as masterful as Maze in his craft and Eve clearly knew that it seemed. He had locked Girol and Deran up the moment he arrived in Hell himself as he knew full well, alongside Dromos and Squee, they were the likely the other protagonists in this chaos.

"But I got his off her". Maze handed him a small, plain gold disc, about the size of a dollar coin. "Decker's urchin taught me to pickpocket" she confessed, seeing him spin the disc between his fingers.

"Well, well", Lucifer replied, a sly smile on his face. "I never thought I would see this particular thing again and here was me thinking by your untimely disappearance Mazikeen that you had somehow deserted your post beside me". He placed the disc in his pocket. It would go in the safe. "I know Michael wouldn't have let the demons out, even if he had some kind of fatuous point to make against me. He is not that much of an ignoramous. She must have used this to do it".

Maze breathed. It was a choice she did not wish to make but, for Eve's sake, she could not be mixed up in Hell any more as it would destroy her. It was only in a moment of uncharacteristic weakness that she was allowed to escape but Maze knew what she had to do, even if it meant that she might lose her. The irony of it was not lost on her. Lucifer had done just the same with Chloe.

"Look" Lucifer started, flashing a glance over the street where the cab was still waiting. "Come back to Lux with me. I don't want the detective or her offspring unprotected with her still out there. I will explain it to her". _Particularly as there are demons out there too._

It had not taken long to collect Trixie from Amenediel, even if Chloe had regretted waking her daughter up, but now they were all in the penthouse. Lucifer was pottering around his bedroom, showered and changed; Chloe was saying good night to her daughter until she appeared in the doorway, wrapped up in a hoodie she had thrown over her pyjamas as she did not want to be wandering around barely dressed with his doormen only feet away.

"I made Jake and Franz a hot drink and ordered them all pizza" Chloe began. "For sitting up all night for us. Maze is with Trix". The demon knew she had an apology to make there too for the palaver over the beach trip that never was so Chloe left them to it.

"I know you aren't happy about Maze being here Detective", he started, sliding in bed as he watched her brush her hair, "but I believe her when she said she lost her. Gabriel would not think twice about snuffing her out in the blink of an eye and that's game over. Maze knows that".

"Maze is the best bounty hunter in the business" Chloe sighed, the brush placed gently on his dresser. "She doesn't lose people". It had crossed Lucifer's mind she was lying, but would she really do that when it would mean almost certain death? No, it would mean death; no mistake there.

"She is vulnerable around Eve" Lucifer replied, seeing her hang the pink hoodie on the back of a chair. "She has feelings that are a struggle for a demon to process. Eve is human. She understands these things better. Like you do Detective". He was knew he was on rough ground. They had still not talked about his meeting with his brother; the one he had kept from her. Chloe just nodded, too tired to argue about it and slid into bed but didn't snuggle up to him."You _are_ mad at me" he stated, feeling it pervade off her.

"Still mad at you", she replied, back to him as she settled, facing out into the penthouse. "Why didn't you tell me you had seen Michael?" Chloe asked. "Did you not think I might be interested?" _So I could help you?_

"I was weighing up which one would make you more..." Lucifer paused, searching for the right word. 'Mad' or 'angry' were not suitable. 'Insane' was highly inappropriate so he settled on one. Upset. "I was weighing up which one would make you more upset, but yes and I apologise to you Detective. I made the wrong choice". He turned on his side and ran a palm over her hip under the sheets, along the line of the elastic of her pyjama pants. Chloe moved and turned even further away from him. "Now who's excluding who?" The question came out before he could stop it but she did not react apart from a weary exhale of breath. "I was simply hoping you might move a touch closer to me; so I can hold you, but its fine". He lay back against the cushions.

After a second feeling guilty, Chloe turned over to face him. "I'm sorry Luce. I am...I just,.."

"I told you I'd make a mess of things" he responded mournfully.

"Oh, Luce, you haven't made a mess" she replied, snuggling up to him and placing her palm on his chest. "I'll be fine in the morning. I just need to sleep and decide for myself that I over-reacted again, because I did. Michael is your brother; you know how to deal with him and I know nothing about all of this celestial stuff... Please don't get upset. Just let me brew for a while. I've had a horrible week and well, it just didn't help..."

"Okay" he replied, incredibly unsure but she still rested her head on his shoulder as they settled and he wrapped his arms around her. He'd give her some time, like she asked.

He had things to think about as it was.


	36. Chapter 36

The bass from the sound system assaulted Lucifer's ears as soon as he entered the dimly lit club.

Standing at the top of the stairs he surveyed all that he owned, that familiar pride swelling in his chest that all that joy, all those smiles and laughter were due to him and him alone. Oh, how he had missed Lux; the familiarity of her and the faces that he knew would come back week in and week out to catch a glimpse of her enigmatic owner. It was no use denying it and Lucifer Morningstar, the Devil himself, did not at all. Why should he?

'No Detective tonight' he thought casting his eye over the throng of bodies on the dance floor as they swayed and jumped as one. Chloe was at home as her spawn had been at a birthday party for one of her sticky friends, but he was here at Lux again for the evening. He did not play tonight. That was saved for when he felt in somewhat of an introspective mood and tonight, it was not it. He could see Maze deep in conversation and he smiled. He would forgive her for her pursuit of Eve. She was his and he was hers since the beginning of time and that would never change. She had done a good job here and yes, she was angry still but he knew it would go soon enough as they settled again. She wanted Hell; he didn't but she was tied to him and as far as he was concerned that was it.

Ever since word had gone out that Lucifer Morningstar was back in town Lux had started to turn people away at the door again as they clamoured for entrance. Some of the clientele were clearly not his bag but he scanned each and every frame for that one person to catch his eye tonight; yet so far? No. Nothing.

He walked - no, he _slithered_ \- over to the bar and a glass appeared almost miraculously in his hand. "Thank you Jacob", Lucifer breathed, swallowing the smooth amber liquid down in one go. "Again if you please", he ordered, and seconds later, the glass was full in one of the barman's over generous measures for the boss. The ever present barman lingered for a moment before he was dismissed with a curt nod of the head. This was what it was all about; all it had ever been - the thrill of the chase, the pursuit and then capturing your prey, perhaps watching it struggle as it succumbed.

The vibration of the bass rumbled up from below, ramped up even higher now as though the building almost knew of his presence as he reviewed the crowd again. Bodies, touches, glances and the odd fumble going on as the lights danced, catching limbs and faces; some of those throwing stares at him too. He still stood impassively, eyes half lidded and regarding the group as each drop of whiskey coated his lips. There was not a remotest chance he might get drunk tonight; the Detective was miles away with her offspring.

This time Lucifer sipped his drink as he savoured it, elbow on the bar and painting an impervious look on his face he saw Lux at her perfect best. Beautiful people, expensive alcohol, music; a sinful, decadent playground if ever there was one and just how he had intended Lux was going to be. How it still would be forever and a day if he had his way.

Lucifer deliberately ignored the stares he was getting as man and woman 'casually' wandered past him but he could see those looks out of the corners of their eyes as they appraised him. It made him chuckle that he simply ignored them. After all what was the thrill of the chase? The Lord of Lux was back and he was not afraid to show it; presiding over his palace giving off that old familiar aura of a thousand promises and a night in his chamber, if you happened to be the chosen one. Even more had heard the rumour that since his return that somehow he was taken by a woman but none of them believed it; in fact most laughed it off as just a filthy dirty lie._ Lucifer Morningstar isn't interested in monogamy. Imagine it! Of course he isn't!_ Such a joke to even think it and tonight though, to the men and women below him, it seemed he was alone after all and catching the eye of all alike.

He continued to scan the crowd and was about to move until his eyes landed on just what he was looking for and a brief smirk allowed itself to appear on his lips. Lucifer downed the rest of his glass and placed it on the bar as his eyes locked on his target and he felt his pulse quicken. His eyes positively lit up and that little caress of his tongue across his front teeth was unconscious.

She looked bored, poor little love, watching other people move to the music as she sat within the shadows on the very far side of the dance floor; just by the DJ. A couple beside her were practically humping each other and by the sideways glances she was giving them, her face was contorted into a barely disguised irritation at such base, and public, activities.

A smile curled its way over his face again and Lucifer's heart rate picked up as he sauntered over, shaking off the hands on his arms, shoulders and the one he felt brush his arse as he passed through the crowd. Any other day, any other woman in front of him he might have ripped that hand from its owner, but tonight he only had eyes for her as she watched the crowd gently,_ innocently_, adjusting the thin strap of her dress. Had she seen him yet? He doubted she had as she adjusted that strap that lay across silken skin again.

He straightened his spine and the closer he got, the more he felt the adrenaline; the thrill of the chase indeed it was. Just like times long ago in fact when he was what? When he was free? Her long hair framed her face and huge eyes locked with his as he stepped closer, slicing his way through the crowd. The couple beside her did not notice him take her hand, squeezing it in a silent message for her to follow him wherever he decided to go and she went willingly.

Lucifer wandered over to the lift, passing through the crowd again, and placed her inside with gentle hands on her arms. He would savour this; take his merry time even though that too was of the essence. They had not spoken a word but her eyes were glued onto his before they raked up and down his body drinking in every glorious, broad inch of him. Her fingertips danced over his palm until he released his grip on her and they stood; him immoveable again and her with seductive sideways glances that held more than promises. The journey up to the penthouse seemed interminable but perhaps barely a minute later, the doors sprung open. He smiled that familiar megawatt grin and gestured for her to walk out of the elevator before him. Always the gentleman Lucifer Morningstar was, _always_ the gentleman and this was no different.

Moving into his silent domain, the warm night air drifted from the open doors of the balcony and it was a much welcomed break from the stifling atmosphere of the club downstairs. He had laughed when Maze confessed that when he was away she put the heat up so people would drink more. As he smiled to himself at the demon's ingenious idea his companion walked in front of him, curiosity pooling in her eyes. As she turned the atmosphere seemed to ramp up across the few feet that separated them, to almost sizzle with anticipation as each second ran by. Those huge eyes looking at him like he was the...yeah, he was the Devil.

"Such a pleasure" he offered; a deep, seductive tone to his voice; one he had not used in a while. He expected her to speak but all he received in return was a smile and she cocked her head to one side; long hair shining still in the dimmed lights. The click of her stiletto shoes in the wooden floor was almost piercingly loud in his ears, feeling her palms rest on his chest as she pressed a feather of a kiss to his sternum over the crisp whiteness of his shirt. Chloe had ironed the very material only an hour or two ago and Lucifer felt a stab of something in his chest that he could not define. The lipstick mark the kiss left behind would render that shirt to a life in the trash can if he did not confess it to the Detective first.

The level of control he usually had in these circumstances was wobbling distinctly, still feeling her palms on his chest as her fingertips gently pressed. "You are nervous", she giggled, wide eyes shining in mirth. "The famous Lucifer Morningstar; the owner of Lux and he is nervous of little old me. What should a girl do?" Her fingertips wandered up his chest, brushing the lapels of his jacket.

It would not take much of his thinly held control to reach for her, but she stepped away from him, dancing to music inside her own head as she spun, hips swinging to the imaginary beat. "Come on, Mr Morningstar? Do you not want me? You look like you do..."

That giggle again flittered its way around the penthouse; his fingers itching to reach for her, temptation to reach forward, just like the Devil of old. Lucifer felt his fingers twitch again, wanting to move, wanting to stretch out and touch but he stopped. Something buried deep inside and only newly discovered reared its head and his feet were adhered to the floor. So many new emotions there were in the world these days and it was the Detective that he had...yes, yes, those that he had to thank for them. It was almost as though his brain had developed a stutter.

Lucifer breathed as she stood before him, smiling, eyes sparkling and he took a pace forward, watching her as again she started to move. Her hair positively shone, dress clinging to every aspect of her anatomy that would make man, woman and devil drool and his hand flexed again. He looked down at the rug underneath his feet, trying to focus. _Guilt_. That's what it was. Guilt at what he was about to do and he could do nothing whatsoever about it.

There it was again though; that nagging, incessant pull to touch her, close that gap between them and put his hands around her throat and _squeeze, squeeze, squeeze until every ounce of anger and hurt and pain was expunged from his soul._

Lucifer did not have to wait much longer when he felt a hand press on his shoulder and the feeling passed to nothingness. "She's all yours, brother" he muttered, utter distain in his voice as he felt a presence behind him. "Do what you want Gabe" Lucifer responded as the woman's face dropped and she froze on the spot in the midst of her dance. "I'm going home". _Back to Chloe_ _and the urchin._

"Are you sure brother?" Gabriel asked, genuinely interested at this turn of events; expecting Samael to be, well more _Samael_. "You will have questions one imagines, do you not?"

"Oh I have questions Gabe" Lucifer replied, his head turned towards his sibling, "but I fear if I ask them now, well, one may do something that one would much later regret."

"Very well", Gabriel replied as he stepped out from behind his brother and Amenediel, Raphael and Michael stepped out from their hiding places too. Lucifer turned away, picking up a leather bag of clothes that he had left by the lift doors deliberately just a few hours earlier.

The woman thought of running until she realised she was surrounded.

"Hello Eve" Michael breathed as he strolled over, shoulders back and the First Woman flinched at the sight of the four angels. "Pleasure to see you again, I am sure. Care to take a seat?" He gestured towards the burnt orange leather of the couches.

Lucifer really did not care what was happening behind him but the look of bewilderment on Eve's face would stay with him for days in an intense, satisfied kind of way. He had grown. Walked away from her; just _walked_ and no matter what she had done to him, he had exercised a restraint that, well, he had never seen within himself before. How long it would last though he would never know. _ She touched the Detective; sod me,I don't deserve it, but she hurt Chloe_. As the lift doors shut, he stared at the floor. He did not hear her first response as he quite literally took flight towards the Detective's beach house.

"Michael!" Eve breathed in her most seductive tone and smiling sweetly again. She knew the effect she could have on him. Those moments in New York told her that; and Los Angeles and the back of that cruiser. "You _said_ you were going to meet me here. You said you could get Lucifer to speak to me. Convince him to come back home with me..."

"I know I did" Michael responded, almost strolling across to her, "and here we meet and it will not escape your notice I am sure that my brother has just left now he has delivered you to us".

Eve looked from left to right, Gabriel and Michael in front of her and Amenediel and Raphael to her back. The stairs were blocked; the balcony too, not that she would jump. "Wait!" she stuttered. He would never betray her; not with all they had, not with all they had experienced. She truly believed that. Michael was...Michael had _helped_ her, but what was he...? "Luce knew?"

"Oh he knew. We met and in fact he agreed to it" Gabriel started, strolling across with that kind of powerful essence seeping from him that he knew sent mortals into a tailspin. "Particularly since you started fighting with his...what _is_ the word?" He flashed a look up to his brothers. The word was foreign to him and somewhat distasteful.

"Girlfriend" Amenediel offered as Eve's head swung around. _That's me; that's who I am, not her._

"Girlfriend" Gabriel repeated, "and since you also had a penchant for stealing things that don't belong to you, he thought it best you were, shall we say, removed from the equation? And by that we mean Samael finally came around to our way of thinking".

"His precious 'love' started it" Eve replied; each angel feeling the poison of her time in Hell as it drifted across the floor to them. "He's the devil, a punisher, someone who indulges in all life's pleasures. But he's...weak now and it's because of her". She paused. "He does not belong here".

Raphael smiled. "I rather think he is gaining a strength he did not have. Humility, I believe it is called but you, you are also a thief" Raphael continued, taking a few steps forward to close in on her further. He may have been a sympathetic, empathetic creature but he was also deathly powerful and Father had bid them to execute this task. "You took something that belongs to our Father and you took it from the depths of where Samuel had hidden it". This was a different story entirely to what may or may not have gone on with her treatment of Lucifer in Hell. It was the opposite of a spanner in the works. It was quite by luck that she happened to be the thief, well the second thief as Samael had stolen it in the first place, but what was the phrase? Kill two birds?

Eve's jaw set. _ Maze_. She must have given one of them the disc. She knew she had stolen it but though the demon was above betrayal of her one time lover. Or that was at least how she saw it or did they take it from her? Force it from the demon's possession? Something rose inside her middle at the thought, but she could not place it. Maze was not her love and she had left to find herself in this complex world. "Why are you here, human?" Raphael continued, his voice just as level and as calm as it ever was.

Eve sighed, a saccharine almost desperate exhalation of air. "I wanted to lure him out and I knew he'd be with her. I want to take him back to here he belongs. Not here amongst these people. In Hell, with me, where we can rule together". All four angels looked at her. The conviction on her face that she could actually achieve it was palpable. She needed to be returned to Heaven and cleansed immediately of this disease that had infected her soul without her, it seems, even realising it.

"You are the bodies..." Amenediel started, the cogs whirring inside his head and the pieces suddenly clicked firmly and horribly into place. "You...you are the bodies . The reburied bodies". All four knew of Chloe's case; the story passed from brother to brother but Amenediel was the first to link the chain.

"Lure him out as I said" Eve replied spinning to face him. "What's best than a crime to LAPD's civilian consultant, especially one that it rather unusual? Luce likes twisted and different. Although..."

"Tell me human" Gabriel responded, taking several paces forward. He was three times the size of the dainty First Woman and all four began to crowd her space.

"Well it was not me precisely" Eve frowned. "I did require some assistance". What was she so open with them? Why was she not just the slightest bit, well,_ terrified_? Was her mind so sufficiently destroyed that she did not even think to be frightened of the celestial forces in front of her, or even to think to be afraid of Lucifer himself if he ever recovered himself? She knew them; they knew her. Back then. Back before she left.

"Demons..." Michael stated. He knew. It had to be."Where are they?"

Eve shrugged. "I..." she began, her shoulders dropping for the first time. This was bad. Even in her current state, this was bad, bad, bad. They did not belong roaming the streets of Los Angeles. "They said they wanted to find Luce, find him to see why this Earth made their Lord so fragile and they..." She lowered her head. "I thought I had them contained until a few days ago" she continued, panicking for the first time, beginning to realise the enormity of it all. "I thought they realised that I was supreme to them; they called me their Queen". Michael saw it first; that initial crack in the facade. "I thought it was perfect. You could get Luce to speak to me, we could find the demons and he would realise". Who from the four knew how it had been in Hell? Those wounds on Lucifer's body and those racing, frantic desperate thoughts and voices in her head that clawed at her day and night and told her she was right in ever action, every strike to his body.

"So you let two demons walk these streets?" Michael asked, a fury rising from him as he broke her train of thought. How ironic it was that he asked that question, notwithstanding it was him that presented the key to Hell to her in the first place. Yes, her innocence and her corruption had well and truly been played. "Who, or what else assisted you human?" He could tell from the expression on her face that there was something else to be said.

"A resident called Malcolm" she responded, clasping her hands together tightly almost cutting the flow of blood to her fingers. "Interesting man he is". Or she thought he was.

Amenediel's heart stopped as panic set in; waves crashing over him. It was a new sensation, but one he felt more than ever now he was rooted to the Earth through choice and circumstances. "Malcolm Graham? Is he up here?"

Eve laughed. Amenediel too had met her long before Lucifer left before, and she even sounded different. "Of course not. I am not that foolish. He simply passed me some information. Where the LAPD might put bodies that they may want forgotten about. The news he provided me simply assisted me in my plans". It had been a touch of luck too that they had chosen that spot for those bodies from the Mayan.

"Do you know this Malcolm Graham person?" Gabriel asked, immediately suspicious, as he looked over the woman's shoulder to his brother.

"Yes. He had and I...well an issue arose with Chloe and Luci. He kidnapped Chloe's daughter" Amenediel replied heavily as his mind raced and raced. _And I brought him back to life to let him do just that. _

"He lay his hands on Beatrice and Miss Decker?" Raphael asked seeing Amenediel nod. None of them knew, of course, that their brother was responsible for Malcolm's 'resurrection' and the events that followed. Nobody knew, but they would now. He had to confess and stand for the consequences before Father whatever those may be.

"Brothers, do you object if I go to find Lucifer?" Amenediel asked, knowing he had to act well and fast. "He may wish to come back to hear the rest of this". He had to make this right; thinking Malcolm Graham was dead and buried. Literally. He had to be the one to break the news.

"Convey to him what we have found out brother, but we will be returning the escaped human to Heaven tonight" Gabriel noted, still staring the woman down. How could such a slip of a girl cause so much trouble? "Father wished it and we will endeavour, brother, to do just that".

Amenediel almost rolled his eyes as he strode out of the penthouse. His brothers were sycophants. Mind you one day long ago, he had been that too. "You can wait an hour", he snapped back. They did not though and as one once-Angel had to drive across Los Angeles from DTLA to the beach in Linda's car (yes he had fallen some way too, particularly when the thing ground to a halt and coughed its almost dying mechanical breaths somewhere in Culver City) Michael and Raphael took the human and Gabriel stayed. He had to find those demons before they found, well, any poor soul on these streets. The damage could be untold.

Some miles away, as the angels and human rose to the skies and others to the streets, Chloe shifted slightly in her sleep. She had known the events of Lux were to take place tonight and decided it would be safer for Trixie to be at home than in the penthouse and it was only Lucifer's reluctant agreement that she got. He told her of his conversation with Maze; that two demons had been brought up from Hell and with her mind and heart at war, she had still insisted she would stay at home. The demons would not know of her, surely? They might go to where they thought Lucifer might be. Lux in particular or they might just get stoned somewhere, as Maze had put it, and forget about it all. Unbeknownst to them all, bar Lucifer, Maze had begun her own personal bounty hunt to bring the two incalcitrant scum to bear too. There was only room for one demon in LA.

Chloe had tried to wait up for him but as she lazed in a roasting, scorching hot bath, she did nothing but fight sleep. Part of her still wanted to wait for him but the other part was pleased she could actually fall asleep now and stay asleep for more than a few hours a time.

Now, as darkness had clouded the Los Angeles sky she was _cold_, realising the duvet was almost wrapped around her legs but her whole upper half, dressed in her cerise and purple stripy vest was open to the night elements. She woke a touch, moving again until she realised that there was a dead weight on her. Chloe opened her eyes properly to the middle of the night and a dark crop of hair using her abdomen as a pillow. That's why she was so cold. He had obviously crept into bed with her, his left hand resting on her ribs, fingertips pushing the material up so it was almost exposing her completely and shoving the duvet away as he burrowed closer to her; curled up in a ball and almost horizontal on the mattress.

"Luce..." she whispered, running her left hand through his hair. "Lucifer?" His only reaction was to settle further against her skin, flexing his neck and grumbling slightly at being disturbed. Chloe sighed. She was stuck. Good job she didn't need the bathroom. "Lucifer" she started again, more firmly this time and running a fingertip over the shell of his ear and back again several times, knowing what that did to him. She felt more than heard a deep rumble from inside his middle and eventually he raised his head; eyes leaden. "Hi" she offered; receiving a drowsy smile and what she could only describe as a croak of a greeting in response. She was still twirling her fingers around the strands of his dark hair. "I'm cold" she offered plaintively. "Pull the duvet up".

Lucifer simply shook his weary head, starting to dot brief kisses over her skin. Chloe had started to notice he almost craved skin to skin contact. Her mind flashed for a second wondering if that was why he had no problems with shedding clothes. In truth, he had crashed straight into bed the moment he knew the house was secure and safe and her body was a haven. "Where's the urchin?" he mumbled.

"She nearly fell asleep in the bath after the party" Chloe responded. _She gets it from me_. "She's been out cold for hours".

Lucifer smiled and resumed his activity of kissing his way along the line of her ribs, her fingers winding their way around his curly hair again.

"Did you get her?" Chloe asked quietly, her mind too curious to let her body indulge. The question was from her mouth before she could stop it but thought that the woman had been spying her, creeping around to even see them in bed.

"Yeah" Lucifer replied. "She was there just as Michael said she would be. I left them to it." Their plan had worked perfectly even if he was a reluctant participant until he saw those three scratches on the Detective's shoulder. His mouth was now creeping down closer to the elastic waist of her pyjama bottoms, lazily caressing her skin in no hurry with the world. He was not sure he had the strength to do very much more than kiss her; tonight's events had somehow drained him far greater than he had perhaps expected. That's why he had slept like a corpse, even though after his swift flight, he had only been back with her for maybe an hour and a half at best.

"Luce?" Chloe asked again, shifting her head on her pillow.

"Hmmm?" he responded, brushing his fingertips now over her clothed thigh, the bristles on his chin grazing her skin on his way back up to her ribs.

"What did you feel when you saw her?" She had been terrified in reality of what he might say or do when he saw Eve again up close and personal. He was strong, dominant and she had _hurt _him. Chloe did not know what he might do and in the silence of her bath, a thousand thoughts ran through her head.

Lucifer ducked down and she felt him breathe carefully on her skin. "I wanted to feel the last ounce of air eek out of her throat as I put my hands around it. But...that feeling passed". It was almost as though he did not understand what he was saying and why he had simply walked away from what? Punishing her? Torturing her just as she had done him? Avenging it all? "When she touched me it was nothing..."

"Touched you?" Chloe asked. The fingers that had been wrapped in his hair stilled. Just how many lovers had he had over the years and he was here lavishing her body with kisses when everything and more was laid out on the table at Lux?

"Yeah she tried to..." Lucifer was not sure how to word it without upsetting her or her thinking it was more than it actually was. "There's lipstick on my shirt". He actually looked contrite in his unswerving attempt to be honest with her, perhaps even more than 'the Devil never lies'. "I'll throw it out" he added quickly.

"There's no need for that", she replied, knowing how much he spent on clothes. That shirt was probably worth more than half her wardrobe. She'd get it out somehow. "I believe you when you say that is all it was". Her fingers went back to messing with his hair and it was almost comforting.

"You do?" he said, leaning up on his elbows, head pressing into her palm like a cat being petted. So that was what affection was after all and it warmed his every essence. How he had lived a life without it; without _her._

"Lucifer" Chloe started. "Even if her state was mind was disturbed as you say it might be, she nearly_ killed_ you. Do you honestly think I am worried you might have tried to jump her bones?" He looked down at the white sheet, crumpled up under their bodies. "I trust you, hear me?" she stated as he nodded carefully. "In retrospect I have trusted you for a long time not to deliberately hurt me. I just didn't recognise it". He smiled shifting up the bed and pulling the duvet up with him and Chloe smiled as the welcome warmth engulfed her.

She felt him kiss her jaw. "Good", Lucifer replied, sliding his left hand down her abdomen and underneath the elastic waistband of pyjamas. He was about to dive into her warmth when he felt a little push on his shoulder. "What?" He could see she was wide eyed. "What? Did I hurt you?"

"No" she squeaked, feeling her heart start to race for all the wrong reasons. "I think I heard a noise outside. The veranda creaks". These last few months, well this _year_, had made her almost obsessed about every noise in the house, from the pipes groaning to that raccoon that scared the shit out of her that night when it stared at her from the back step. Every noise, in her untrustworthy mind, was Lucifer coming home or yes, a demon coming to harm her. It had lessened as time went on but it was still there and there were two demons out there now, weren't there? Roaming around. Creeping around. Maybe they didn't want to get stoned. Maybe they wanted to get to their King. Chloe swallowed. It wasn't Lucifer this time. He was here right now and, yes, if it had to be anything please let it be a burglar even though they might get a nasty surprise to be greeted by the Devil. _Hello Burglars, come to play?_

He moved away from her, pulling up the long pair of sleep shorts he was still wearing, glancing at the bedside clock seeing that it was just touching 1.00am. "Stay there. If you have to move, go to the urchin" Lucifer began, that slight element of command in his voice that made her insides jiggle.

Chloe crept out of bed after him, tip-toeing down the corridor to check Trixie was still asleep as he stepped downstairs. 'Shit' she thought, quietly pushing open the door to her daughter's bedroom just an inch or two finding her precious baby fast asleep. If it was a burglar or a demon, didn't matter which really, the Devil was vulnerable around her. It was the first time she had thought about it in a long time, a flash of a memory of that axe buried in his expensive suit. What if he was attacked? She had no idea how far out of range she had to be for him to be safe. 'Was that a thing?' she thought. 'Is there a set distance?' All of these vaguely ludicrous things crowded her mind, but carefully she listened, hearing the front door open slowly and an exclamation.

_"Oh for..."_ Lucifer's voice came, heavy and exasperated and Chloe was ready to spring downstairs to grab her gun. _"For all that is fu..."_ she heard. Again his voice sounded maddened and Chloe frowned still listening until she finally got her answer.

_"Amenediel! Bloody Hell! Get off the porch! Why didn't you just ring the blasted bell?" _


	37. Chapter 37

Smiling when she realised it was Amenediel and probably celestial business at that Chloe retired back to bed, stretching out in the warmth with a sigh.

Perhaps she had dropped off for maybe fifteen minutes or more when she was woken by an almighty thud that almost shook the house. Disentangling herself from the duvet she shot downstairs, glancing at Trixie's thankfully still closed bedroom door. The deliberate noise she was making - thudding her way bare foot - down the wooden stairs did nothing to distract the brothers.

Chloe had clearly arrived mid conversation. Well mid _fight._ Amenediel was pinned to her front door, feet dangling as he fought for breath from the palm that was around his throat. That must have been the thud. She could feel the Devil's fury deep insider her even from her space several feet away. "Lucifer, what's going on?" Chloe asked. The confusion was far outweighing any anxiety that might have tried to present itself at the sight before her. She knew they were not entirely the best of friends even now but whatever had been said or done, she could see fear in Amenediel's eyes.

"Detective this is not for you to see" Lucifer replied, sounding oddly calm, even though his body was wound tight like a spring.

"It's my house" she said firmly, realising she was about tell off the Devil but felt at ease enough to do so. "Therefore it is my business. What's going on, Lucifer, tell me?"

Her voice filtered through the anger and Lucifer licked his lips in a wild, predatory way. It was so unlike those times when he had done that and promptly threw her onto the nearest flat surface. This was just a taste of Lucifer of old; the Devil that was limbering up inside and ready to flex its muscles. "Do you _know _what he did Detective?" His eyes were scarlet, glistening and his face contorted with rage as he enunciated the question and let Amenedial almost fall to the floor with another thump that made Chloe wince. "Do you know what my so called brother did?" He was staring at the rug, barely able to control the thunderous boiling in his chest; not letting her see that side of him; not wanting her to see it.

Chloe straightened her shoulders, determined not to be afraid of him (and she wasn't) but it didn't stop her heart fluttering. She had no idea. Amenediel had been so good to her since Lucifer left that her first inkling must be that it was something from eons past. "No, what did he do?" Chloe asked as she glanced at Amenediel who had resumed leaning against the door rubbing his throat only to, seconds later, fix her gaze back on Lucifer who had turned to her now, eyes blazing still. His body was tense, tight, fingers flexing but Chloe had to be calm for them both, even though she could feel some kind of disconnect clawing her as the moments went on. It was like all those times before; flashes of memories of her fear of Lucifer and how foolish she had been.

"He..." Lucifer started, gesturing wildly to where his brother stood behind him. "That creature. _Malcolm Graham_. The stain on humanity that you quite rightly put several well spent bullets into..."

"Yes?" Chloe asked tentatively.

"The one who was in a coma" Lucifer carried on, tight words fighting past clenched teeth. "The one where they were turning off, _turned off,_ his life support, well guess who was responsible for the 'miracle' of his return?"

Chloe's eyes very slowly tracked towards Amenediel as though time had stood still as the realisation rolled its way from head to toe. It was like time stood still. _How ironic_. She had never understood it at the time. The man had been_ brain dead and in organ failure_, but now it all clicked into place. Divine intervention someone had joked at the time. _How ironic._ Chloe took a pace towards him, almost standing between the brothers. The vast incendiary ball of anger in her chest was bursting against her ribs. "He kidnapped my daughter. _Shot_ Lucifer and you..._you_...get out of my house!" She was trying not to scream at him for Trixie's sake and her tone was an onimous one at that and full of venom.

"Chloe..." Amenediel started, ready to plead if he had to as a hand stretched out, lingering in no man's land between them.

"Do not even speak my name" she spat her lips curling with sudden and utter hatred at this man who had done so much for her some day in the past. "Get out of my house!"

"Chloe I am so sorry..." he pleaded again, putting his palms together almost begging her in prayer.

"I don't care. Lucifer?" It was like she was calling a dog to heel as she gestured at the door. Actually no, it was like calling a blood thirsty werewolf to heel and it was pleased as punch to be at its Mistresses' bidding.

"Whatever you wish my beloved" Lucifer replied, his voice thick with power, raising his head at last as she took pace back. "Brother do you wish to open the door? Or be put through it? I would prefer it be the former as it would rather inconvenience the Detective to have to call a tradesman at this time of the morning".

Amenediel swallowed. "Eve is being taken back to Heaven tonight. Michael and Raphael have gone with her." That was the other bit of news that he had to deliver tonight before he started his foolhardy confessional regarding Malcolm Graham.

"Gabe?" Lucifer barked.

"He's erm...had to stay here. There is another issue" Amenediel's eyes flashed between the two, wondering if either knew of the other problem that arisen with Eve.

Chloe breathed out heavily. She had not felt this angry since...well since Lucifer left. "Yes I know about the demons. At least_ Lucifer_ was honest with me about those" she added with a stab as she shoved him away from the front door so she could open it.

"Perhaps you would care to go back to Heaven brother? But oh no you can't, can you? Father took away your wings" Lucifer mocked as he stood up straight and faced the door.

"Luci, please. I don't wish to fight with you" Amenediel began. "I know I made an horrific mistake and..."

"Too late" Chloe interjected, gesturing at the starry night outside and pointedly looking at Amenediel. He left without a word and breathing carefully Chloe shut the door, locked the door. She placed both palms on the painted surface, pushing away that disconnect that yes it was definitely sitting on her shoulder. She had to be calm and fighting, fighting, Chloe took three deep breaths in and out and feeling no better she straightened up. She was shaking; her brain running wild at this revelation. This was worse, worse than anything.

Lucifer had turned back to face the sitting room, leaning heavily on the back of the couch, head sinking from his shoulders. "Lucifer?" Chloe asked quietly. She was suddenly shivering even worse now, wondering if she was a little bit in shock at this news.

"Yes?" he croaked, head still bowed and fingers gripping the cushions; knuckles white and blood pounding in his veins still ready to lash out.

"Look at me", Chloe breathed. It was not a question but Lucifer shook his head quickly. "Lucifer, look at me". Her voice was sterner this time, trying to force away a jitter inside her. He felt her hand go around his wrist as she stepped across, feet cold on the wooden floor.

"Chloe, no", he replied, unsure whether he was talking about her touch on his skin or her request for his attention.

"No" she responded, deliberately crowding his space; right hand on his bare back where there were no more scars and her left grasping his wrist even more. "Look. At. Me". Whilst his face might have relaxed in the tiniest fashion but he knew his eyes were still aflame. Chloe could however see he was not going to do what she asked; at least not quite yet. He felt warm; far too warm and under her hand, Chloe felt the oddest sensation and it sent a renewed shiver up her spine. It was like his skin was moving, not like the beat of a pulse, but as though it was hardening; tightening. Carefully she spread her fingers apart slightly; feeling and seeing his skin start to redden like a raw burn. _Shit_.

"Distract me Detective" he said all of a sudden. "Talk to me about other things. Not _that_". He knew his skin was changing, had tried to force it back away ever since Amenediel confessed his sin but it was there, inflamed, red, tough and under her hand.

"Erm..." Chloe started, brain suddenly struggling to find another topic that was so far away from work, their latest cases, or the fight of seconds before. "Did...did Trix tell you she scored two goals when she was playing soccer last Saturday?"

"She didn't" Lucifer replied, unchanged in his pose from before. "And its _football_, you philistine", he added with a shake of his head.

Chloe laughed out loud and saw a twitch of a smile on his face too but his eyes were still closed. "Thank you", she said suddenly.

"What for?" Lucifer responded, not entirely sure why she would be thankful. He had brought too much to her door already yet she still wanted to be by his side.

"For coming back" she replied. "I know I've said it before, but in whatever circumstances thank you for coming back to me. For feeling you could". He nodded yet still did not open his eyes. "I mean every syllable", she concluded, lifting up the wrist she was holding and pressing her lips to the marred skin on the back of his hand. The scarring was hard and tight against her mouth; having a distinct tang of blood to it. "And I mean it more after tonight".

He smiled and shook his head. Chloe was about to rub her palm over his back trying to soothe him when she heard light footsteps coming down the stairs. _"Mom?"_

"Hey, baby?" Chloe responded, spinning around to face the child. Her voice was high-pitched, fake and she could tell her daughter knew she was hiding something. Lucifer felt her grip on his wrist tighten again as she put it back down on the couch. He kept breathing carefully, pushing away the flames that continued to flare up inside him and not daring to turn around.

"I heard a noise" Trixie offered, rubbing her eyes and pushing her hair back from her tired face.

"It was just Amenediel" Chloe replied, trying to keep her voice light to avoid frightening her. "He visited for a moment. You can go back to bed".

Trixie nodded carefully but her eyes wandered over to the half dressed man who was still leaning on the couch, his back to her. "Mom? Is Lucifer okay?"

"He's fine". Chloe knew her response was too quick. Trix should not get caught up in their mess. "Amenediel and he just had a bit of an argument that's all". Trixie looked at the Devil's back again. "Lucifer is a little upset, but nothing for you to worry about", Chloe replied without outright scolding her and telling her daughter to get back in bed. There was no reason to shout at her; the girl was only concerned.

Trixie was not having it, however. "You tell me that if I'm angry or upset I have to tell someone and you are keeping secrets from me and that makes me angry and upset". Chloe sighed. Yep, her daughter had thrown her own advice straight back in her face. She watched as Trixie rounded the other side of the couch and she climbed, standing on the cushions so she was face to face with Lucifer. She put her palms on his shoulders and Lucifer visibly flinched, not expecting the contact. He was trying to concentrate on the hand Chloe still had around his wrist as he tried to ground himself to her and dissolve the anger that was growling so very near the surface.

"Urchin, you know I am the devil" he responded eventually, hearing Chloe's exaggerated breathing at his side. Lucifer hoped she was not panicking. They would have to talk each other down at this rate!

"I do" Trixie replied, the most calm of the three in the room it seemed. How Chloe wished she still had that innocence of the world; to take people at face value once more.

"But you have not seen who I look" he replied, his eyes still closed.

"I know but it'll be like when Maze showed me her demon face won't it?" Trixie asked, and the simplicity and balance in her voice not being lost on her mother or Lucifer. It was inevitable now the urchin would see the redness of his eyes; see a glimpse of the Devil underneath.

Chloe's stomach dropped. Of course. "She...she showed you?" she stuttered.

"Yeah, I could see all the roots of her teeth and her eye socket. It was sooooooooooooooo cool" Trixie smiled before she turned her attentions back to the Devil. "So show me, Lucifer. I won't be scared like I wasn't scared of Maze".

Chloe shut her eyes as Lucifer opened his, feeling her iron grip on his wrist relax but only a touch. The redness had dimmed a little it was still there. "You are genuinely not scared of me child?" he asked, mind racing as Trixie shook her head as her eyes examined his, flickering all over his face. Inside he saw the same thing he now saw in Chloe's - acceptance. "Thank you Beatrice". The words fell from his dry mouth in barely more than a whisper as he bowed his head again towards her.

Trixie smiled and threw her arms around his neck and this time he didn't resist or make comment about sticky urchins or random hugs. "I'm going back to bed now" she announced jumping off the couch and running upstairs. Lucifer sighed and shook his head, only moments later realising that Chloe's hold on him was no longer there. Instead she had turned and was sitting on the back of the couch; her head in her hands, the blonde tips of her hair hiding her face.

"Detective?" Lucifer whispered taking her hands from her face; feeling his skin return to normal as the rawness began to fade. Chloe was trying not to cry and to her own surprise forced that lump in her throat away. "Oh" he started, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and bringing her close. "Please don't, beautiful. I will deal with Amenediel or Dad will. You and Beatrice don't have to worry about that".

He felt her shake her head against his chest. "It's not him", Chloe replied, breathing in that warmth that was still there. "Well it is in a way, but..." she looked up, wriggling slightly so she could see him. "I hurt you and Maze so much". She felt a kiss pressed to her forehead. "Maze really stepped up, you know, when you left and Trix knew all along she was a demon, but I didn't. She was like a sister to me and...Amenediel was like a brother to me too. I was so caught up in feeling shit and sorry for myself that I never told her how much I appreciated her or him, but..." She paused. "I don't know what I feel towards Amenediel now. Now I know he...well he made one decision and changed the universe didn't he? Nearly had my only baby killed..."

"As I said let me or Dad deal with him" Lucifer replied. Another kiss to her temple made Chloe smile. His attempts at affection that didn't end in sex were few and far between but this time it was only meant in comfort. He was also curious about too Maze and Chloe after he left. "What did Maze do to make you appreciate her so much then?" Chloe heard a touch of mirth in his voice.

"I'm not telling you so you can tease her", Chloe replied, realising that he was holding her fast. He raised an eyebrow. "She just _helped_, Lucifer. Like she kept Lux open for you and she tried to help with Eve didn't she? She's off trying to find those demons..."

Yes, Maze's attempt at psychoanalysing Eve. "I don't think she'll be qualified to take the good Dr Martin's job quite yet but yes, Maze is loyal to the end and I don't tell her enough". She had taken up the demon hunt herself without his bidding.

"So tell her..." she offered into his chest.

Lucifer tutted. "You're ex-husband might have suggested I had a personality transplant when I was away but I will not go that far". His reaction to Amenediel was enough to know he hadn't. He was perhaps just slightly more selective in how he behaved and in front of who.

"Dan did what?" Chloe asked, raising her head. She just_ knew_ they had been too friendly in the club the other night.

"Doesn't matter" Lucifer responded, lifting her up by the thighs so he had no choice but to wrap her legs around his waist. Chloe suppressed the squeal that was in her throat by his sudden move so Trixie did not hear. She wanted to keep talking to him but clearly this was not now the time or place now he had decided otherwise. It was no use trying to claw him back and she could see he had packed his dispute with his brother away for the night.

"Wait, wait" she said suddenly as he was walking towards the stairs with her hanging on for dear life. "Lights".

Lucifer sighed and walked, still carrying her so she could flick the light switch by the front door. "Better now?" he asked in faux annoyance.

"Yes, thank you" she smiled, brushing an errant tear that was still clinging to her eyelashes. Chloe dotted a kiss to his lips and let herself be carried up the stairs.

The morning came around too quickly and as she strolled across the school car park with her daughter a few steps ahead, Chloe felt her cell buzz in her pocket. It wasn't work, or Lucifer, it was Linda. Chloe breathed. Did she know about last night? Did she want to talk about last night? Where they going to end up arguing too, each human defending their angel?

_"__Lunch today? x" _The text was simple. Before she knew it Chloe had a lunch date with her therapist and she was just kissing Trixie goodbye when a woman walked up to her. "Miss Decker?"

"Oh, hello" Chloe replied, greeting Trixie's teacher who had spotted mother and daughter from the steps of the school.

"I wonder if we might have a moment?" she asked, smiling at the school girl and her mother.

"Yes, yes of course, Mrs Novak. Trixie babe, don't forget Hallie's mom is picking you up this afternoon", Chloe continued and with that her daughter was off.

Chloe smiled at the other woman and they walked a little way away from the crowd of parents and children, the teacher gently putting her hand on Chloe's elbow to guide her away. "I hope you don't mind me speaking to you, Miss Decker", the teacher started. "I just wanted to have a chat with you about something that may be important."

"Oh?" Whatever it was, Chloe did not need this on top of everything else and as she squinted into the sun she prepared herself for yet another hurdle to add to the pile.

"Yes and forgive me if you think I am interfering", Mrs Novak started with a smile that she hoped was a comfort. "Beatrice, she tells me both you and her father have found new partners."

"Erm...yes" Chloe replied hesitantly wondering where this was going, watching other parents drop off their children with occasional waves to her from Trixie's friend's Moms.

"She tells me that the owner of Lux is living with you both", Mrs Novak offered. Chloe swallowed. What had Trixie said exactly? "I am not one to preach Miss Decker", the other woman reassured her when she saw the dark look on Chloe's face. "You are looking at woman who has been through three husbands, but I simply wished to check it was not a fantasy of hers. Young girls that age act out for attention in all ways particularly if they are from a less than stable background and some of the other girls, older ones, well they tell her she is making it up. He is a good looking, wealthy man but he does have somewhat of a...well... an eye for the ladies". She knew how pre-teens and teens could get fixated.

Chloe looked the woman but bit her tongue. 'Less than stable background?!' The divorce was four years ago! "She isn't lying" Chloe replied. "It's true. Well, not quite the living together. Not officially but I can assure you if I was worried out Luce or his behaviour around my daughter it would have been addressed before now".

"He does have rather the reputation Miss Decker and I have a responsibility for Beatrice whilst she under the roof of the school". Mrs Novak paused. "She, well she has been telling some of the other girls and it has got to a few of the mothers so you do understand why I had to raise it with you". Chloe had virtually forgotten the fact that Lucifer was, well, on the lower end of a celebrity in this town, with Lux and his, well, lurid lifestyle before. Lux had appeared in the tabloid press and so had its enigmatic owner.

Chloe needed to get away from this conversation as soon as feasibly possible. She had been on the receiving end of some of the gossip when she and Dan divorced and she did not need the looks and whispers for snaring the infamous Lucifer Morningstar. None of them knew he was the Devil or she was some kind of miracle baby. Imagine the gossip then? "It is not a fantasy. We are...well we are happy and she has known him, _I've_ known him long before were together".

"Then I am pleased Miss Decker" Mrs Novak responded. "I have been in your shoes. Divorced. It does not make new relationships easy particularly when there are children involved, whoever that relationship might be with".

"I know and thank you for looking out for her" Chloe replied, genuinely.

"She tells me he helps with her history homework and I do have to say her grades have soared with that recently" the teacher laughed.

"Yeah" Chloe replied, half laughing too she was that self-conscious. "He erm...he studied it too. Took a great interest. Some of the things he comes out with you would think he lived it!" Chloe knew she was babbling and, after saying her goodbyes, she shot off to the car as quickly as she possibly could,trying not to look at the other parents as she slid into the safety of her car.

Lunchtime rolled around with speed too and Chloe found herself sitting with Linda at Gino's, only over the street from the precinct. Linda had watched with some disappointment that Chloe had just chosen salad with no protein or dressings and Linda was working her way through a healthy bowl of chicken pasta. It was almost as though Linda could read Chloe like a book after all these times they had spoken the question was out of the doctor's mouth before she knew it.

"Is something worrying you, Chloe? I know you have Dr Goodman but I am still willing to help if I can?" Linda asked, taking sip of water. "You can talk to me about anything".

Chloe sighed. "It's not me, for change. It's Trix. The school. She's been telling everyone that Mom is seeing the rich guy that owns Lux. Almost boasting about it by the sounds of it".

"Ah..." Linda replied, remembering her own conversations with the youngster on the beach.

"I mean..." Chloe started keeping her voice low as there were colleagues a few tables away. The last few days had got her thinking again about the change that had been in her life. "I jumped into bed with him less than 48 hours after he came back. He has been practically been living with me. I haven't been thinking clearly. I didn't think how Trixie might feel – if she's happy or just pretending to be for me. He did warn me. Walking heroin he called himself" Chloe licked her lips and leant closer. "I mean and I've never willingly taken a drug in my life but I thought he was just being slimy or at best he was joking, but..." Chloe shrugged her shoulders.

"She is worried" Linda offered.

"That's he'll go again?" _Me too._

"No. That...well, the change is sudden and pre-teens minds work in strange ways. She wants him to stay; she likes him but she wants some time with you too; just you two, without him and she's well...conflicted. You are happy with Lucifer and she wants to keep you that way but she wants her Mom too".

"So does she...? Oh! I've been so selfish" Chloe responded, putting her elbows on the table, head in hands. "I can't believe I've neglected my own child to chase a damn man around". _I still don't now if he is staying. Would his brothers just take him back?_

"You have not neglected her, Chloe" Linda responded, trying to reassure her. "She has had a rough time of it this past year too; you still parented her when a lot of people would have broken in the circumstances. You fed her, clothed her, still helped with homework; kept her warm and safe. It's easier for us adults to understand, or at least try to and she does want him around. Don't forget that."

"I know. I know she missed him too but I was trying to be as normal as I could for her and not let her see. Even if I was ..." she was about to say 'thinking of ending it all' but Linda knew that. "I've had the tears and the defiance; so has Dan and his parents. As time went on I think I just dismissed it as hormones".

"Well it might well be that too", Linda replied. "Look Chloe, she told me on the beach trip. When his brothers were here",

Chloe nodded carefully. "I'll see what she wants do when she gets home from school. We could watch a movie tonight or go and play soccer in the park. That'll put Lucifer off" she finished with a smile, even though it belied the thoughts running a million miles an hour around her head. The trouble was every second she was away from Lucifer, she felt guilty. She was good at guilt. He would think she had abandoned him again (or at least as so she thought); so unused he was to the machinations of, well, any kind of relationship that lasted longer than a few pleasure filled hours.

"I think that's what she wanted to take to Maze about" Linda continued until a thought struck her. "Speaking of which where is Maze? I have had any impromptu visits for a few days".

"She has a bounty hunt on her hands". Chloe didn't want to get into the whole demon issue. The events of the Mayan were long quiet and her investigation about the bodies, well that was explained now and Rogers would not like it so she decided to say nothing at all. "How's Amenediel?" Chloe had to ask even if she might like the response and the question was out of her mouth the moment she had tried to redirect the conversation from Maze without her realising.

"Quiet. I think his brothers being in town makes him realise what he has missing" Linda mused. He had been quiet. Too quiet; even with Charlie.

"Did...Did he tell you about last night?" Chloe asked tentatively, pushing a chunk of tomato around her plate with her fork. She had forced herself to eat breakfast to set an example to Trixie and the fact that Lucifer was silently breathing down her neck, but after last night, she was not in the mood to eat today.

Linda breathed, turning her fork over as she speared the last tube of pasta on her plate. "Yes. The whole horrible saga. I am sorry Chloe. I understand why Lucifer is the way he is about his family now and why he reacted like he did last night. I wish I could justify Amenediel's actions. But I can't" she ended with a deep frown. "Although, I hope it will not come between us. You and me, or Trixie".

"Of course not", Chloe replied. She needed Linda more than ever; and Ella and Maze. All the Tribe. "Do you want me to drop you back at the office when we're done"? She only needed to nip across the road to fetch her car but the good doctor declined in favour of the walk and a second after Linda left, Chloe's cell rang. "Decker".

_"__Hey Chlo"_

"Hi Dan" she replied, hearing the rumble of a car engine kicking into life in the background as she walked up the street.

_"__Where are you?"_

"Ginos. Why?" Chloe asked, just getting to the cross walk to go back into work.

_"__Body dropped and it's not a nice one either Chlo. I'll come get you"._

He was back being her partner now, but Dan calling her was not unusual. She had half expected Lucifer heckling in the background, but the fact that Dan was warning her that this was 'not nice'? He never did that. No dead body was 'nice' but why specifically mention it? "Wait where's Luce..ifer?" she asked.

_"__No clue. He disappeared when you went for lunch"_

Dan was off the phone quickly and as she waited for him she threw another text - this time to Lucifer in her nervousness of his sudden disappearance. In all sensibility he could not have left again, properly left, but it did not stop her overactive imagination and to hell with being that clingy girlfriend - this was about work after all. _"New case. Where are you?"_

The response was almost immediate. _"Maze. Needed me"._ He ended the text with a devil emoji but this time it wasn't the purple one. It was the red one – with glaringly white teeth and horns. Hell business, clearly. A second text followed quickly. _"Don't worry. I may be a while"._ That one was followed by a black heart.

She sent a red one in return as Dan's car pulled up and she slid in. "So what is it that so 'not nice'?" she asked only slightly reassured by Lucifer's text. At least he was with Maze she supposed but as Chloe turned to him, Dan actually looked apprehensive at her question.

"Let's get there first" he replied with a cough to clear his throat of the knot that installed itself there. "Ella's...well, let's get there first, shall we?"


	38. Chapter 38

Now this was like old times! The Devil and the Demon, stalking, tracking, searching for their prey and Maze was in her element. The excitement of the hunt, the exhilaration of being on the trail of their target and Maze, letting the wind whip through her hair as the Corvette screamed along the highway, smiled as they travelled. This was it! How it used to be and how it would be if she had her way.

They were likely breaking every speed limit in the state but she knew Lucifer would not care. He would just buy off the Judge. Lucifer was however not speaking, white-knuckled hands gripping the steering wheel, his jaw set and a frown creasing his forehead. Maze was not entirely sure whether he was angry or simply concentrating. He had come with her willingly after all so it couldn't be the former, surely? She still smiled to herself. This _was_ old times and for the first time in a long time, she felt that spark of the way they used to be when side by side Hell was that their command. Before these human feelings interfered.

"There!" Maze suddenly shouted even though he could barely hear her above the noise of the road and the wind. In response, Lucifer slammed on the brakes and hauled the Corvette off the road in a cloud of dust. The air fell silent for a moment as the pair's eyes fell on the structure standing maybe thirty feet away.

"Is this really where you last saw him?" Lucifer asked, brushing down his suit. He had _sand _everywhere and half the desert was in the Corvette. He was _annoyed._

"Yes" Maze replied petulantly as she got out and slammed the door of the car. "I did tell you not to wear your damn Prada". She stalked off towards the clearly abandoned building on front of them.

"You didn't tell me we were practically going to be in the arse end of nowhere, Mazikeen with gale force sand blowing from all angles" he retaliated, making a great show of brushing down his suit sleeves as he stalked across to the building with its smashed windows and roof half caved in. He just heard the demon making a sharp tutting sound.

"Whatever Lucifer" Maze replied, waving her hand. "You just don't listen to me".

He just made a scoffing noise at her as Lucifer strode over the forecourt of what had once been a gas station. It was clear the place had been closed for longer than a while. Maze was checking out the small building to the side, but the moment Lucifer put his hand on the door and gave it a gentle tug, it fell off its hinges.

Striding inside, the place had clearly been trashed but as he ran his finger over one of the half empty shelves, he saw odd packets of food, drink cans opened and half empty bottles of wine. "Someone's had a party I see" he mused, slapping his hands together to rid himself of the thick black dust that was on the shelf. As he walked towards the counter, out of the corner of his eye he saw Maze disappear down one of the aisles, feet crunching over broken glass as she explored.

Ducking down behind the counter, Lucifer found nothing of interest but yet more dust and trash, crumpled up receipts and, pleasantly, a half eaten mouldy penicillin bound tuna sandwich. The Devil pulled a disgusted face as he stood up, hearing Maze knawing loudly on potato chips as she stood opposite him.

"Where did you get those?" he asked, patience wearing thin as he leant across the counter and snatched the bag off her as she gestured at a half full shelf of similar provisions by the door. "Look at that..." he said, pointing at the expiry date."September 2018!"

"So?" Maze replied, still muffled by a mouthful of out of date, stale, 'cheesy flavoured' chips. Lucifer huffed and stepped to one side, popping open the till to realise a few dollars and a handful of dusty coins that he left be. They were not here to be thieves. "This was like when we first landed", Maze began, dumping the half eaten chips on the counter. "When we busted that ice cream parlour on the beach, remember?"

"Yes Maze I remember" Lucifer replied, slamming the till shut with a metallic groan. "Except when we landed it was cookie dough ice cream not 2 year old stale over processed crisps that I very much doubt have ever seen a potato in their unnatural lives!"

"Chips" Maze replied as she leaned over and picked up a bar of chocolate that was left on the side. She ripped off the wrapper and threw it on the floor, regarding the cocoa powder that had seeped through leaving a pale dust before she took a huge bite.

"Just be quiet Maze and stop eating!" Lucifer replied as he marched off towards the back of the building now, kicking open a door to find a store room. Three or four paces in his hands flew to his face. "What is that smell!?"

Behind him Maze smiled through a mouthful of, yes, out of date, chocolate. "Demon" she replied, muffled by the candy. "That's what that smell is. Demon..." She dumped the half eaten chocolate on the floor.

"My brothers did say I had lost my sense of smell..." he replied, fairly sure it was just the offensive odour of cheap alcohol he could smell but nevertheless. "Maybe its coming back". He, however, breathed pointedly close to her cheek. "Except all I can smell on you Mazey is hmmm, Chanel is that? Chanel Coco Noir if I am not wrong?"

"Don't be so freaking creepy Lucifer", she replied actually feeling a shiver that was certainly not the lust they had once shared. "If you must know your girlfriend bought it for me as 'thank you' present months ago". She was casting her eyes around the dark storeroom, boxes fallen all over the floor and yet more smashed glass. It was so dark in there that she could barely make out anything but a small rectangular window on the opposite wall.

"What for?" he asked, genuinely confused. Chloe buying Maze presents?

"For being a friend to her and the small human" Maze snapped back before she strode across the floor. "You should try it sometime".

He dropped his head but it was quickly replaced with another emotion as anger hit at the accusation. "Don't you think I am trying Mazikeen?!" he responded, wondering why he was keeping his voice at a respectable level. There was no-one to over hear them here. "I am trying be more upstanding; to take responsibility for my job, for Lux, for the Detective and our urchin".

"Whoa! You said 'our' urchin!" Maze almost laughed as she turned around to him. "That's a fucker of an assumption, Lucifer! Decker's not gonna be impressed by that. She's not your kid, Lucifer and she ain't yours to look after. Terrible taxing burden you said a while ago didn't you?!"

"Children are" he responded, feeling the need to justify himself. "I am... I am fond of Beatrice and besides..." He had done something just the day before yesterday that Chloe may well just kill him for, but that was for another day and a conversation with the Detective. Perhaps he should have spoken to her before he made the decision but it was far too late now.

"Besides?" Maze enquired, now very intrigued, leaning down to hunt through a few more boxes.

"Nothing", Lucifer snapped, squinting into the darkness and needing to change the subject rapidly. "What's that in the corner?" He pointed to the far side of the room.

Maze followed the line of his finger and kicked a pile of what may have been material and lifting it up when she realised she was getting no response. She crouched down as the smell of old, cheap and nasty vodka hit her. It was one of the demons they were searching for, clearly dead. It was pickled; if the smell of alcohol was anything to go by. "Looks like its dead", Maze announced, giving it another kick for good measure, stabbing it in the hand with her heel but there was no reaction.

"Shame" Lucifer replied, casually sliding his hands into his pockets as he too wandered across, picking his way through the glass and collapsed boxes. "I was looking forward to a little evisceration on a Wednesday afternoon. Hazards of all these earthly delights one supposes" he concluded, picking up a bottle of whiskey and putting it straight back down on the storeroom shelf with a look of disgust. "Right now thats done let's get back".

Maze turned. What? "Lucifer, you can't just walk off! We are here to get rid of those two pieces of scum that should not be on earth. You know full well the harm they could cause and we need to find the other!" She was about to move back past him when she felt him take hold of her elbow. "What?"

"Let's bury it and go back", he repeated.

"Is that it?" she asked., eyebrows raised. "Just bury it and leave?" He nodded carefully. "Jeez Lucifer, so much for our old times! This isn't you!" Maze pushed him aside to open a door that revealed a second storeroom; one that looked like an empty freezer. The second might be near. "The other one might be still alive out there getting up to fuck knows what and it needs destroying. You are the Lord of Hell, Lucifer, not some pussy whipped pansy. Act like it!"

He stepped forward, eyes flaring scarlet, teeth bared. "You do not speak of me like that Demon" he breathed, hand going to flex around her neck but he dragged it back. There was that look of wonderment on her face again at the flare of Hell in his expression. "I said I would assist you in your quest and I have. I brought you here. I wish to return to the City and you will follow me!"

"Do you not want to find the other so it can't get to your pet Detective?" she asked. Oh what she had learned from Linda. Little bit of reverse psychology sometimes worked wonders.

"I am going to play at Lux tonight. The other one could be anywhere and we could be looking for it for years" he responded, leaning casually on the door frame. "You can stay here if you want but I will protect the Detective and Beatrice from anything that might approach them".

With that he turned tail and Maze listened to him storm through the shop. With barely disguised fury she kicked a stone that was on the floor and sent it skittering away. She pressed her lips together, a thousand words ready to spill from her mouth, most of them of anger and frustration at him. Instead, on her own, she dragged the body of the demon outside for burial.

Barely half an hour later the pair were sitting in the car. "Mazey..." Lucifer started, about to fire the ignition on the Corvette but stopping. He had watched her bury the body and felt no need to take part.

"What?" She was still furious but sitting in the car with him she had no choice. She had no other option otherwise she would be walking back to the City or hitchhiking like she had done the first time.

Lucifer took a lungful of dry desert air. "I just wanted to say that I appreciated you keeping Lux open for me". His voice was low, quiet and he was regretting being so harsh with her. Bloody human feelings.

"Decker told you say that right?" Maze responded cynically.

"It may have come up in conversation" he replied. The devil was never much of a liar. "And for wanting to hunt down this danger. You have done the right thing".

"And you haven't?" Maze laughed, running her feet through a pool of sand that had gathered in the footwell of the passenger seat.

"I have Mazey" he replied, the engine flaring into life. "I have just done what is right for me and what is right for me is not to return to Hell. I realised that the second I landed back here. I know my return was not pretty but I will fight my Father for the Detective day in and day out for as long as I may live". He paused. "I do understand how hard it was for you to let go of Eve". He saw her look down at her lap. "I know it must have been hard to release her to my brothers and I understand why you tried to help her. You are loyal Maze and I am grateful. More than you will ever know".

"You are pussy whipped" she laughed, but there was no malice in it.

"I will help you find the other one. Like you said, they are a danger and they need eradicating". Maze smiled as the Corvette simply screamed away.

Not so many miles away, the two Detectives approached the crime scene that they had been called to – an old office building, door kicked in and windows smashed very much like the gas station where Lucifer had been not so long ago . At the side, in an alley, a body was covered in black sheeting and the forensic scientist was leaning over it. "So what do we have?" Chloe asked. Dan's air of nervousness was reflected in Ella. He clearly knew more than he was letting on and it made Chloe suspicious and antsy too. She could still read him like a book and did not miss the little glances between her colleagues and friends.

"Its, erm..." Ella started, standing up and moving them slightly away from the corpse. "There's no ID on the body apart from a possible on a tattoo on his chest that might take us somewhere - initials CD and a heart. Looks like he was hit from behind but it's only a small wound and I can't see how it would kill him unless there's something under the old cranium that's bled".

"And?" Dan asked. He already knew what was coming.

"Well, he has bite marks all over his body", Ella replied, glancing quickly at Chloe in particular.

Dan had been curious; Chloe's brain however switched immediately to her conversation with Lucifer and she tried not to let them see the panic that washed through her body. Bite marks. Demons and paranoia kicked in. "Bite marks?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. Demons. Do they leave bite marks? How just exactly was she coping with all of this new knowledge and the outlandish ideas it gave her? Badly it seemed.

Ella nodded at her question and Chloe tried to focus. "I'd go with some kind of large dog, Rottweiler or even some kind of wolf like creature but when I mean large I mean_ large. _The poor dude never stood a chance..." She pulled up several photographs on a tablet. Chloe winced when she saw them. Huge chunks of skin, muscle and flesh ripped out on this person's back, arms, buttocks, calves.

"Do you think the bites killed him?" Dan asked tentatively.

"I'd go with the blood loss from them, yes" Ella replied. "The head injury looks superficial but you never know what's lying underneath. Autopsy will tell us".

Chloe nodded, her mind scrambled as she felt that dizzying sensation in her head that she had not felt for weeks; that bolt of lightening that set off tiny explosions of fire inside her skull. Damn it. "Can you send me those photographs?" she asked, trying semi successfully to keep her voice in check. "I want to have a closer look".

"Consider it done". Ella tapped a few buttons and Chloe felt her cell buzz in her pocket. She would look at them later when there was no-one around and as it approached five o'clock and the end of her shift, she got the opportunity. The pictures had been sitting there all afternoon on her email and an anxiousness had settled in her stomach but now they adorned her computer screen, zooming in and zooming out, wondering if she could see marks from any teeth, fangs even. The more she looked the more that inner voice taunted her and ramped up the paranoia. Where there only two demons? Had Eve released evern more than they knew? How many were wandering around outside? Chloe continued to stare at the screen, wondering if she should just go and _ask_ Ella if she had any news but before she could stand up she saw a rather familiar figure slide into the seat on the opposite side of her desk.

"You look a little...wind-blown" she commented genuinely. The smooth, slicked back, smart hair that adorned the crown of her Devil was missing, replaced by those curls she loved to tug on when he was between her thighs.

"Yes, well. I rather am and it is rather appalling" Lucifer replied. He would have to get the Corvette into the valet like yesterday and himself into the nearest shower. "Brief trip to the sandy abomination you call Palm Springs".

She nodded carefully at the closed off expression on his face. That was a conversation for outside the precinct it seemed and she stored it up for later. Instead she had a question for him. "Luce...sit next to me and can you have a look at this?"

He travelled on the chair to her side, greeted with the photographs in their glorious technicolor on her screen. "That looks...rather unpleasant" Lucifer observed. It was obvious to him they were bite marks on a rather portly gentleman. He refrained from offensive comment. She looked too worried for it.

"Luce" she whispered, leaning closer to him so nobody could hear. "Could a demon do that? Those bites?"

"I doubt it", he responded, realising where her thoughts had gone. "They inhabit bodies if they have the chance, they don't_ eat_ humans any more, Detective, I can assure you". He saw her nod carefully, wondering if that was relief on her face he saw as he leant closer. "Eating humans is my job. Well it's my job to eat one particular human" he whispered in her ear as she shivered in response at the tickle of his breath on her jaw before she pushed him gently with her shoulder. "I missed you" he started, fingertips crawling up her jeans onto her thigh under the desk, "and speaking of which I need to kiss you, you know. Right. Down. There".

Chloe swallowed carefully, pushing the thought, his hand and resultant tingle in her body away. "Luce...Lucifer..." her voice was full of warning as she still needed his reassurance. "It is _impossible_ that a demon could do this?"

"Completely, Detective" he replied, instead squeezing her knee in reassurance as she was clearly not up for playing this evening. "Is that from today?"

"Yeah", she replied, leaning propping her chin up on her hands as she continued to stare at the pictures. "Body was found at the side of an office block on South Main Street. Bled to death from, well, these...Ella!" she exclaimed, seeing the other woman walk past.

"Hey beauties", Ella replied, suppressing a smile at them sitting so close as she turned back towards the desk.

"Any news on the bites?" Chloe asked, leaning forward keenly on the desk. She needed to know to assauge the feeling in the pit of her stomach or be prepared for the next step if the worst came to the worst.

"Yeah, definitely a dog" Ella responded. "Some kind of Rottweiler like I thought. Set on him probably peri mortem. We'll know more tomorrow."

Chloe sat back in her seat as the other woman disappeared and feeling some of the tension in her body immediately dissipate. "What were you up to with Maze?" she asked, recalling her text conversation with him hours ago.

"Demon hunting", Lucifer whispered. "I have sand in various unmentionable places".

"Oh and did you?" she asked, hand over her mouth to disguise some inappropriate laughter.

"Yeah" he smiled; the smile more from being pleased that they had found it, or well that Maze had and certainly not from any satisfaction of a prospective kill. "Well one of them but it was already dead so our hunt was cut short". He saw her hesitate and a look of sadness move across her brow. "Detective... Chloe. It doesn't mean I want to do it every day or have any desire to at all. We just have to deal with this issue. _These two issues". _

Chloe nodded as her eyes wandered to the clock and without another word she began to shut down her computer. A few minutes later they were walking across the underground car park towards Chloe's car and Lucifer had a question. "So what are we doing this evening?"

"Well", she started, fishing in her bag for her car keys. "I am going to take Trix to the park to play soccer and then I promised her ice cream. You?"

"I said I might do little more demon hunting with Maze. If you don't need my company, I can do that". He did sound so put out and she would have to make it up to him. If he was faced with the choice he would rather be with Chloe than traipsing after a demon. He had however already told Maze he would and a promise was a promise after all. "If I may escort you home and get you and the urchin settled and then I'll go..."

"You don't have to escort me home, Lucifer. It's not the 1800s" Chloe laughed, sliding her arms under his and around his waist, shimmying a little closer.

"I know it isn't but will you let me?" he pleaded. _There's still a demon on the loose as much as it pains me._

She smiled and reached up, kissing him like there was no tomorrow, winding her fingers into curly hair and hopefully letting him know she wasn't ditching him. She wasn't going to fuel his feelings of abandonment that he already had, but Chloe jumped slightly when she heard a car door slam on the other side of the car park. "Sorry" she whispered, putting a hand to her mouth as her lips memorised the kiss.

"No need to be sorry Detective" Lucifer replied with one of his signature smiles. "Quite the contrary in fact".

"Are you coming home tonight or staying at Lux instead then, if you are out hunting the you know what?" she asked, seeing Lucifer shrug his shoulders in response. He might not get home tonight if he was being dragged around by Maze to who knows where. "Well", she continued, mind wandering to the frankly bizarre question she just asked, "you have a key. Use it". He nodded his assent and they drove off.

Chloe would admit she had not had this much fun in ages. Giggling, laughing, forgetting all the pain, the arguments, the tears and tantrums, the flashbacks, absences and nightmares; all of them forgotten. Even Lucifer did not enter her mind once as she and Trix ran around the park playing soccer for perhaps longer than they intended. Chloe was not even sure the ice cream stall would still be open but by the skin of their teeth, a positively exhausted mother and daughter were standing the last in the queue.

"How was school today babe?" Chloe asked as they waited. They hadn't had time like this in ages and Linda's words were still firmly fixed in her mind. She had missed just being silly with her daughter.

"Mrs Novak asked me to look after a new girl" Trixie replied proudly. "She moved here a month ago with her Mom after her parents divorced. Mrs Novak thought I might help her because you and dad got a divorce too."

"Oh" Chloe breathed as they reached the front of the queue, slightly disturbed that Trixie seemed to be so blasé about it all. "Two strawberry sundaes please" Chloe smiled at the ice cream seller.

"Coming up! It's a lovely night isn't?" the man commented as he moved around the van. Chloe had not seen him before. He was dark, swarthy and if he cleaned up and lost the ratty beard he might have been quite handsome. That said though she only had eyes for a certain club owner so the throwaway thought in her head was just that - thrown away.

"It is" she replied, politely, looking out across the beach as Trixie hung onto her waist and the two adults exchange small talk as the sun began to set. Eventually Chloe took one sundae to give to her daughter and then received the other to her hands. She had just paid when she could see the man was hesitating.

"I erm..." he started. "I wonder if you might like to come out to dinner with me one night, or see a movie?"

Chloe's heart stopped for all the wrong reasons and she felt her skin burn. Nobody had actually asked out on a date like this since Marcus, and even then she had known him for a little bit already, but with that, better best forgotten. She had not been approached by a complete stranger since, well Hot Tub High School when she was just looked on like a piece of meat with tits. "Erm..." Chloe started, hoping Trixie wasn't listening. "Erm...no...I er...I can't. I'm with someone already". He handed over her change as he nodded in silent defeat. "I'm sorry". _Why was she apologising to him? The answer was no, it was always going to be no.  
_

Either way though Chloe excused them both and consciously took up a seat on the beach as far away from the ice cream stall as she possibly could and forgot about the man, not sure whether to be flattered or not. She shouldn't be unnerved by being asked out on a date but she was. Maybe because she knew Lucifer would probably kill the man for even breathing near her. They sat, however, and Chloe dared to ask a question of her daughter that she had wanted to for years. "Trix, how much of that do you remember about when me and your dad split up. Honestly?"

"I remember you were happier" Trix started still with that childhood honesty. "I love Dad but I didn't like you shouting all the time and I didn't understand why you kept crying. Like when Lucifer left, you kept crying but I think that's different to Dad. He's different. You missed Lucifer".

"Trix about Lucifer..." Chloe started. Her daughter had seen his Devil face and barely blinked. She knew he had been back to Hell and Chloe knew that her daughter, the daughter of two police officers, had seen much more destruction in her short life than any of the other kids in her school and as a mother it saddened her. They needed to have this conversation though. It was important for the future.

"I don't want a step mom though" Trixie replied, completely changing the subject as she put the little wooden spoon back into her ice cream.

"I don't think your Dad and Ella are quite thinking of getting married yet, Trix, but if they do, we will talk about it, yes? And Trix neither are Lucifer and me either". She needed to knock that one on the head right now. "I don't want you worrying about step mothers or step fathers, understand? Nor telling the other kids that Mom is dating the rich guy who owns Lux. It's not their business."

"Yes Mom" Trixie replied, her voice sad and downhearted. Mrs Novak must have told her.

"I mean it". Chloe took another spoonful of her sundae as Trixie nodded again, Chloe believing the youngster had got the message. "Its our private family news just for us, understand?" Trixie nodded but would not look her mother in the eye. "Do you know I think we should have one or two nights a week where it's just you and me again. What do you think?" Chloe asked.

"No Lucifer?"

"Not if you don't want him there" Chloe replied seriously.

"I do Mom!" Trixie replied, suddenly. "He makes you happy and if you are happy I am happy too. I just..." she paused, "I want some time with you too, but I don't want to hurt him either. I think his family hurt him a lot and we have to make up for it, don't we?"

Chloe nodded. "Babe I know it's all happened very quickly with Lucifer and I didn't think to explain it all to you...He's been a friend for a long time but I finally realised I loved him. Love him, more than just being my friend or someone I work with, but you make me happy too Trix and I am sorry for not talking to you or asking you. Its just not very nice saying goodbye to people when you don't know if they are coming back". She breathed. "I got very upset", Chloe added quickly.

"That's why you have to tell him to stay, he can still work with you and he can be your boyfriend properly", Trixie replied. She had very firm plans it seemed.

Chloe smiled. "You tell him that babe" she responded. She wished it was that simple. _Tell his damn brothers and his father too._ "I just think we stick to our plan? Yes? Don't feel it's your responsibility to sort it all out and Lucifer and I, well, we can work out what's going to happen, but I promise you will be included and we will tell you what's going on. We can do it together?"

"All three of us?" Trixie asked eagerly.

"Together and apart, babe" Chloe replied, hugging her close and feeling ten times better now they had seemingly cleared the air. "Come on. You've got school work to do and we can finish these at home".

As they crossed the road, and walked up their street Chloe could see the house was in darkness but the Corvette was outside, its lights just switching off as a Devil and a demon got out. Her daughter must have spotted them too and passing her half eaten sundae to her mother, Trixie shot off towards them, running up the street as fast as she could. _"Lucifer! Maze!"_

Chloe smiled at the sight of her daughter throwing herself at the pair. She still might have complained about being called 'babe' at the age of almost 12 but Chloe hoped her daughter never ran out of hugs. She continued to speed walk, the condensation on the plastic ice cream pots soaking her hands to find Lucifer standing waiting for her at the end of the path. Maze and Trixie had already gone inside. She hadn't seen anyone smile at her like that before, just by her mere presence. "Anything?" she asked.

Lucifer knew exactly what she was referring too. "No", he replied. "Not a squeak. Did you and your urchin find a quorum?"

"We did" Chloe replied happily. "I erm...I got asked on a date too". She was always going to tell him - it was best to - and his reaction was just as she thought but it was better that he knew that not. His eyes were sharp, threatening. "But I said no, Luce" Chloe laughed, trying to diffuse the situation as they reached the door. It was the last thing she wanted to get the poor guy beaten to a pulp for what was, after all, a hopeful question. "It was only the blue ice cream van guy on the beach. He weirded me out a bit to be honest".

"Martin?" Lucifer replied, very confused. "I doubt very much it was him. He doesn't swing your way, Detective".

"No it wasn't him" Chloe responded as they walked inside the house. She knew Martin. He only lived three houses away and he would frequent Lux a lot too, but with Lucifer's words, and Maze over hearing them, a few pieces clicked into place. "Guy with long dark hair, beard, rough looking, deep voice, blue eyes..." Chloe continued putting the ice cream containers down on the breakfast bar and wiping her hands on a towel.

"Piercing blue eyes?" Maze asked, peering over the back of the couch. "Almost abnormally icy blue? _Really_ deep voice?"

"Yeah" Chloe replied. "Why?!" she asked, alarmed as Maze and Lucifer looked at each other and there seemed to be a silent communication between them "Wait...Was that the...you know what?!" she continued, realising she had been asked out on a date by yet another resident of Hell and shit...what? Did the demon know who she was? Know who Trix was? With that Lucifer and Maze were out of the door, leaving Chloe and her offspring in their wake.

"Mom?"

"Yes babe?" Chloe replied, spinning on her heels as she closed the door and unable to keep the tiredness out of her voice, realising her daughter had heard most of that from where she was in her bedroom.

"Is there another demon?" Trixie asked, school books in one hand and picking up her ice cream with the other.

Chloe remembered that she was going to tell her daughter the truth from now on. "Yeah, babe, another one, but Maze and Lucifer will sort it out. Finish your ice cream and we can start on your homework". The girl trotted off happily and unfazed. She trusted those two so much. Chloe sighed, taking up her own sweet treat that was no more than pink mush now, another spoonful scooped up. She would make dinner whilst Trixie did her work; make enough for all four of them and those two could eat when they got back.

The moment Chloe opened up the fridge it struck her. Jeez. _Making dinner for the devil and his right hand demon._ Jeez. What had her life become?


	39. Chapter 39

Chloe woke to the thud of the shower shutting off.

Opening her dry eyes she vaguely registered it was 7 something or other on the far too bright green digital display on the clock on her dressing table. Groaning she flung her one arm across her face and the other reached out for Lucifer but the bed beside her was cold and the sheets undisturbed. "Lucifer? Is that you?" Probably a stupid question but she never knew these days. Yet, she heard the words 'only me' from the bathroom as he wandered out; a towel slung low over his hips and rubbing through his hair with another. This was shower number three since he and Maze returned and he still did not feel as though he had properly cleansed himself of the stench of the demon and indeed Hell on his skin.

Chloe leant up on her elbows as she received a weary smile. She cracked her neck. "When did you get back?"

Lucifer made a non-committal noise as he returned the towel in his hand to dry in the bathroom. "A few hours ago" he replied, his voice fading slightly as he walked. Returning he leant on the frame of the door, not wanting to sully her with the remains of his night which he could still feel. Despite the relentless scrubbing and the soaps and her shower gel, the demon's remains were still there crawling all over him and it repelled him.

"Did..." she started, sitting up and pulling the duvet up with her even though she was very much dressed. Blindly she noticed the skin on his arms, shoulders and chest was red, like he had been under the hottest shower or scrubbed his skin into oblivion. He was even vulnerable in the shower when she was sleeping a few feet away it seemed. "Did you find him... it?" Chloe asked, being very careful.

Lucifer nodded but still did not move. "He was exactly where you said; selling ice cream on the beach!" It had actually been easy and for one, he was pleased.

Chloe smiled and rubbed her eye, wishing he would just walk across and get into bed. _A demon selling ice cream and asking her out on date._ "Did you ask him about what he wanted with me?"

"To find me. You were his way to me" Lucifer replied, wiping a drip of water at that had fallen from his hair over his forehead. She did not need to know the rest of the 'plan' that had been mercilessly squeezed from the demon's throat; nor the miles they had travelled to dump the body half way to the back end of nowhere again. That was why they had been out for most of the night, putting it in a place where it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find. "But he found me Detective and well... Maze seemed to enjoy herself immensely in the aftermath of our rather simple search".

"And you?" she asked quietly. Chloe was all too conscious of the fact that he had not joined her yet; that he seemed to be deliberately distancing himself across the bedroom floor. She would admit to having woken a few times in the night with her heart racing and wondering if he was there yet still finding his side undisturbed.

"It was..." he started, unable to find the words and shifting uncomfortably. "Not something I wish to repeat". He finally stepped forward, losing the towel around his waist at the last minute and sliding back into bed with her. Chloe smiled and burrowed back against him; both settling under the covers. Lucifer had to push away that darkness that sat around his shoulders and being close to her seemed to do it; at least for now. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, pressing a kiss to her shoulder tip. It was almost as though he could read her mind. Chloe hesitated. Maybe he could read her mind! No, no and thrice no! Stop it! That was too much. Even her overactive imagination had started to develop its own paranoia and that she still could not shake. She turned her attentions back to his question.

"Sort of", she responded. "I woke up an' expected you to be there". She felt him breathe out as she snuggled down further. "Where is Maze by the way?" Chloe asked, feeling her eyes start to close again. It was Saturday; she could have an extra half an hour.

"Last known location was sleeping on the floor in your offspring's room" Lucifer replied. He wasn't tired himself, but needed to just close his eyes and shut it all out. "She wanted to. I didn't tell her to".

"Did you tell her you...?" Chloe asked, referring to her suggestion that he tell the demon how much she was appreciated.

"Yes" Lucifer replied tightly. "Except she laughed at me so I am firmly of the opinion I will not be doing that again any time soon".

Chloe laughed sleepily. "That's just Maze's way, you know it is. She just won't admit that she might be touched."

"I know" he replied taking another deep breath and shifting closer to her, sliding a hand into her vest top just letting it rest against the ticklish patch on her ribs, running his fingertips along the feel of the bone. He had noticed she was eating better at times but this was still no good. Lucifer had to find a resolution for the whole bloody thing and get her healthy again. He slid his hand further down, letting his thumb rub on the underside of her breast over the bralette lace she was wearing.

"Luce we can't!" she protested quietly, conscious of Maze and Trixie. "Too much company and you are _naked_". She had asked him to dress when Trixie was in the house but really didn't want to start a discussion about that again as her heart would not take an argument. Like some kind of saviour her cell buzzed on her bedside table. "Lucifer..." she breathed, the end of his name spilling into a squeak as he moved her hips back for her; that same hand now flat on her abdomen. "I have to get that".

"It won't be work" he responded, warm breath on her shoulder again. "You have a day off today. It's Saturday or have you forgotten?"

"I didn't forget, but it might be important" Chloe insisted as he sighed. She took this as her cue that he was going to release her and she slipped off out of his arms and leant forward to the bedside table reaching over for her cell almost to be lying on her stomach. "Who is it?" Lucifer breathed, moving tight in close again and flinging the duvet away before he ran his palm over the base of her spine.

"Linda" Chloe replied, wondering why on earth her therapist might be calling at this unsociable time in the morning. "Hello?"

Lucifer shuffled down the bed, placing open mouthed kisses on her back trying to ignore the conversation that Chloe was clearly trying to have, tracing a finger over the stretch marks he had spotted long ago. "Linda?" To him she sounded alarmed. "Linda what's wrong? Is it Charlie? Is he okay?"

He was sure he could hear crying, no, he could hear actual hysteria on the other end of the line. "Linda!" Even the slightly sharper tone of her voice caused him to hesitate and he crept back up the bed so he had an ear to the phone as well. "Linda!" All he could hear was muffled, mumbling and even more crying. "Right, don't move. I'm coming over!"

He grabbed her before she could get off the bed. "Detective, its Saturday and you have a child!"

"You can feed Trix her breakfast and its sports practice day" she responded, wriggling away and off the bed to fling open a dresser drawer. "Her soccer kit is in the grey and blue sports bag in her room and the pink sparkly one next to it is for tonight and tomorrow with Dan. It's all ready. She just needs taking to the school field for 10, stay with her. It'll only be couple of hours. She'll like you being there". It all came out in quite a blur as her mind was racing and she was getting dressed faster than the speed of light.

Throwing on fresh underwear and a pair of jeans Chloe turned and regarded him. "Luce, please" she started, crawling up on the bed, not wanting to resort to this but she had little choice; particularly with him when his focus was elsewhere. "If you take her, and stay with her, I will make the rest of your weekend rather interesting. Dan's picking her up from the soccer and he's taking her to school on Monday so we have the weekend, but I have to go Luce" she concluded, getting up again and pulling off her pyjama vest top.

He just made a disgruntled noise. "Lucifer, Linda has done so much for me and for you. One morning will not kill you!" She sounded angry and, well, yes she was angry. Just a little bit. Chloe turned again. "She is my friend, she is your friend and she was hysterical, you heard her!" He nodded carefully. "There were..." Chloe started before she quickly threw a blue tee shirt over her head and, facing the mirror, picked up a hairbrush as he watched her curiously before getting up. She closed her eyes for a second, cursing herself as she accidentally pulled on a tangle in her hair before feeling his palms arrive on her hips.

"There were what?" he asked carefully, encouraging her to speak. He felt guilty now.

Chloe swallowed, dragging the brush almost violently through her hair, snapping a few strands but right now she didn't care. "I am going to see her because no matter what you think, I owe her...because there were plenty of times I was..." She swallowed and took a handful of the ends of her hair to brush it out and trying to calm down. "I was just like that down the phone to her...almost screaming down the phone at her because I felt so lost, scared..."

"Because I left you" Lucifer muttered with eyes downcast.

"Yes". Chloe put the brush down. She would have to do. Rather than turning in his arms she watched him through the mirror, lips pressed to her shoulder, head bowed in penance. "Lucifer...for me...will you take Trix to soccer, hand her over to Dan and wait for me?" She turned in his arms now and he straightened up. "I don't want to sound like a nagging, whiny wife when we have barely started on this. I did enough of that with Dan when she was a tiny baby, and I _know _she is not your kid so you have no responsibility for her at all... but just once?" She saw him nod, taking in her words. She knew her eyes were brimming with tears but it was not deliberate, not some calculated attempt at manipulating him. It was the only way she could let it out.

"I will take her and wait for your delightful ex-husband to complete a safe, timely and appropriate handover of the goods", Lucifer replied, feeling suitably admonished, kicking away that selfish side of him that had decided to rear its head when all he could think of was avoiding a couple of hours with sole charge of her child. It's not like he didn't like her; he just didn't know what to do with her.

"Thank you" Chloe replied moving her hands down his bare backside and lending a squeeze for good measure. At the last second, just as she was about to kiss him they both saw the bedroom door open and the landing light seep in.

"Hey Decker" Maze exclaimed smiling at her until she saw an utterly naked devil attached to her former flatmate. "Jeez Lucifer I don't need to see your ass at 7 in the morning!"

"Mazikeen. Sleep well?" he replied, sliding off Chloe and giving the demon a well and truly provoking face full of the Devil's goods. He fell face down back into bed, not bothering with the duvet.

"Maze?" Chloe asked, pulling on a pair of socks as she sat on the end of the bed. "Will you come with me? Something's wrong with Linda."

"Sure, I can" Maze smiled. She could see the look of concern on the Detective's face. "Is Charlie alright?" An unearthly panic started to settle inside her and one she only seemed to associate with these humans.

"Yes, he's safe", Chloe replied, grabbing her car keys and purse from the floor. "I couldn't work out what it was she was that upset about but Charlie's fine". She was sure about that but it didn't take away the sheer fear she had heard in Linda's voice.

Maze nodded. "Small human is just getting washed" she offered, thinking that her mother might need or want to know.

Chloe smiled, checking around to make sure she had all she needed as she dragged on her boots. "Good. Lucifer is taking her to soccer practice for me".

Maze snorted and leant on the door frame. "You, Lucifer, a soccer mom?"

Before he could answer, apart from with a raised middle finger, Chloe dragged Maze away to the car and a short drive - for LA – later the demon gently touched the front door of Linda's house. It was open just a few inches and deliberately keeping Chloe behind her, Maze pushed it open ready to spring on whoever it was that might be that could be hiding. Now, clearly, Chloe could hear Charlie crying and as the pair entered the house, both their gazes fell on the doctor. She was sitting on the couch, still in black pyjamas, head pressed into her hands and _shaking_. Her glasses were on the table, and there had been obvious signs of a scuffle. "Linda?" Maze began unable to keep the anger from her voice as she strode over, stamping on the contents of the tipped up coffee table. "Whoever it was, tell me where they are and I'll finish them off ten times over".

The doctor looked up and despairingly at Chloe. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen. Charlie was screaming now and he could be seen standing up in his cot through the open door to his room. "I've tried _everything_ to make him stop but he _won't_". Chloe nodded. She had heard those words fall from her own mouth not so long ago. She knew what that despair felt like when whatever you do never stops them crying but this was more than just about a crying toddler if the state of the house was anything to go by. This was more than just a bit of a mess because someone was too lazy to tidy up.

"Let me" Chloe whispered dumping her bag and keys as Maze sat down next to the crying woman, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"What happened, just tell me and I swear I will..." She was ready to do anything and everything to stop those tears.

"Maze". Linda's voice stopped in her tracks. The doctor swallowed seeing Chloe walk in with Charlie on her hip. He had calmed slightly as Chloe sat on the opposite seat trying to distract him and listen to her therapist at the same time. Linda looked up at them both, her face crushed with a distress she had not felt in years. "He's gone...Amenediel's gone". It was the only way she could think to describe it. It was too real already, being dragged from a peaceful breakfast by the bang on the door and the argument, no the_ fight_, that followed that undoubtedly the whole neighbourhood would have heard.

"Gone?" Chloe asked.

Linda nodded, feeling Maze's hand tighten on her shoulder. "Gabriel and Michael..." she started, swallowing back the fear that she felt when she realised just what was going on. "They came at dawn and asked him to go with them to their father. He refused and...and...they fought." She pressed her lips together, eyes casting over the positive mess of the living room with the tipped over table, the smashed vase that belonged to her great aunt and magazines scattered underfoot. A cup of coffee had been knocked over and it was congealing on the cream rug under her feet.

_"__You will brother, you will come to see Father. You have no choice!"_

_"__I do have a choice"_

_"__Brother...Father wishes to discuss the issue of the child with you and more importantly the issue of the stolen soul."_

_"__You will not touch Charlie!"_

_"__He is not interested in the child. He does not wish to remove him. It is you and you have matters to answer to! You know what that is and you will come!"_

_"__No!"_

Linda hiccupped. "They just dragged him out of the house...I ran out and they were _gone_". Linda's hand went to her face again and sobs began to wrack through her body, the feeling too raw of standing on the path as she looked up at the sky. _They were gone_. There was not even a hint of a breeze that morning as an eerie stillness fell upon her, biting at her for seconds until she heard her son crying and screaming at the noise.

"That family are such a bunch of dicks...Their father is the worst..." Maze spat. "We gotta find him Decker."

Chloe nodded, mind racing. She stood up, coughing away an irregular thudding behind her breast bone that was making her queasy at this news. Pacing helped her think and she hoped at the same time it would calm the child in her arms. She stepped carefully over a book.

"Where's Lucifer?" Linda asked. If he had been there, maybe Amenediel, quite literally powerless, might have stood a chance.

"He's on Daddy Duties" Maze offered sarcastically, not realising it was the least appropriate thing she could have said in the circumstances.

"Maze!" Chloe scolded still bouncing Charlie on her hip as she walked. "Not tactful! He took Trix to soccer for me" Chloe explained with a pained smile as she took up a circuitous route around the couch.

Linda just nodded carefully. "Do...do you think he might help find out what's going on? He must be able to talk to them. Telepathically or something" she ended with a shrug of the shoulders.

"I can't speak for him" Chloe replied.

"Hey Decker." Maze responded sharply. "Just tell him to find out".

"No Maze. I won't just _tell him_" Chloe responded. "You know telling Lucifer to do anything results in him tripping out on us and especially if it's do with his family. _That _family" she added quickly. She was about to carry on when Chloe felt her cell buzz, and fishing it out her pocket, looking quickly at what it was. She found a text from Dan bitching about a text from Trixie that said she that Lucifer was bringing her to the school today. It continued how 'handovers by her flash in the pan boyfriend' was not part of the custody deal. Chloe deleted it before she sent an angry message back. So much for trying to be friendly to Lucifer, she thought. "Leave it Maze".

"Please Chloe" Linda asked, trying to stop the tears that were still cascading down her cheeks. "I know they argued and I know Lucifer is sick of being policed by his brothers but he's the only one that can help me!"

Chloe nodded, feeling Charlie rest his head on her shoulder. He was starting to fall asleep. "I'll speak to him, see if he can do something to get him back".

Maze looked up. "Well if that's the case Decker, I'm moving in here for a few days until he comes back".

"Maze you don't have to" Linda replied, taking hold of the demon's hand and greeting her with a watery smile. "Chloe will you try and convince Lucifer for me? Please?" Linda responded. She was not beyond pleading.

The Detective nodded. "Of course I will" Chloe responded. She would have done anyway but just in less of a bull in a china shop way. She had learnt ways to approach the Devil if she wanted something and going in feet first was not it. "But let's think if we can do something too and tidy up this mess as well". Linda nodded as Chloe sat down again on one side. Maze just brewed with fury on the other.

Away across town, the Devil in question was still standing on the sidelines of the soccer pitch. Dan was deliberately standing several feet away as most of Trixie's friend's mom's swarmed around Satan himself. One – who had learned was someone called 'Casey's Mom' – seemed particularly interested and Lucifer was trying his best to find that off button that had he had been searching for for a while.

"So you're that one that's dating Trixie's Mom? You know after the d-i-v-o-r-c-e?" she had asked him, Lucifer only responding with a polite nod of the head. He was fairly sure Chloe wouldn't like to be talked about; particularly over her d-i-v-o-r-c-e by this woman who had clearly spent too much time cooking herself to a crisp on a sun bed. Lucifer was not sure how well Chloe knew this woman, if at all. He suspected it was 'if at all'. "It is true you run that night club downtown? Lux?"

"I do _own _that particular establishment, yes" he replied politely, watching Trixie as she ran happily around the sun drenched field. 'Casey's Mom' just nodded. So the rumours were true then. Detective Decker was banging _the_ Lucifer Morningstar himself but how in merry Hell did that drab little creature capture one of the richest men in LA, if not the richest man in LA if the gossip mill was true?

"I've heard things about it" the woman offered, thinking, hoping he might take the bait.

"I am sure you have" Lucifer replied tersely, folding his arms across his middle, but still not looking at her in the eye. "Don't tell me... drugs, gambling, debauchery, orgies, queues out of the door, the most exquisite, expensive alcohol you could set your hands upon and what? Anything else?" Now he knew why Chloe stayed away from the coven of witches at her daughter's school. Even he could decipher that after ten minutes in the woman's company and the glint in her eye. "That the owner has a certain reputation about him? That he shags everything that's breathing? That he can give any woman or man the best night of their lives?"

The woman went red and he knew he was getting at her. It gave him some satisfaction that he was defending Chloe. "I heard things about its owner, yes."

"Well" Lucifer started, leaning closer to her. "If you are on a fishing expedition for gossip about the love of my life that you can spread as some meagre attempt at getting attention on that thing you call social media, you are going to walk away from this conversation sadly disappointed. That particular feast is reserved to one woman alone now and will be for as long as I can make it. Excuse me". He had seen Trixie run towards Dan and he was glad for the distraction before he said something that he might regret. It looked like the urchin had left the pitch and run straight to her father, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Hi Lucifer!" she smiled as he wandered over.

"Are you accustomed to being substituted earthling?" Lucifer asked, wondering if the child was about to burst into wretched tears and he would have to explain _that_ to her mother.

"Yeah" Trixie replied, looking up at him with those usual bright brown eyes. "It's so Marisa can go on. It's okay! I don't mind."

"Well if that is the case urchin, now you have completed your mandated exercise programme for the day and your father has graced us with his presence, I will bid you goodbye. I have some business to attend to". In truth he had spotted his lawyer a hundred paces up the pitch and he needed a word.

"Okay" she smiled, letting go of Dan and hugging him. "Goodbye Lucifer, tell Mom I love her".

"I will" Lucifer responded, gently patting her shoulders, trying to make this less awkward particularly as he could see 'Casey's Mom' watching how he interacted with the child. "I will see you on Monday after school".

He was about to walk away when he felt Dan's hand on his arm. His voice was low. "Tell Chloe I need to speak to her after you've...after you've finished doing whatever you plan to do to corrupt her even more this weekend".

Lucifer smiled slyly at the thought of the Detective, head slung back, moaning his name as she bounced his lap. "Why Daniel, I thought we had reached an agreement to be at least polite for...other people's sake?" he asked, trying to keep his voice low for the child who was chatting now to another sticky friend.

"This is me being polite", Dan replied flatly and turned his attentions back to the pitch. Lucifer just huffed and walked off.

It was almost three o'clock in the afternoon when he saw the Detective again, a fountain of apologies flowing from her as she flew through the door of the house. He had been back a while and, nursing a cup of whiskey- laced coffee, he had spent the last hour channel hopping and waiting. "I'm sorry Luce" she said, dropping groceries on the breakfast bar. "Linda took longer than Maze and I thought and I needed to go shopping. Maze is staying there."

Lucifer nodded and got up from the couch. "How was the good doctor?" he asked, grabbing hold of her to stop her running around the kitchen like some breathless tornado. She proceeded to tell him the whole sorry story in as fine a detail as she could recall."Now you see Detective" Lucifer responded, "that why I am less than happy about my siblings being here. This is what they are like. They just take what they want because they think they can."

"Can you call them to see, just ask?" she enquired. Despite all the talking that she, Linda and Maze had done, Lucifer, it seems, was their only option.

"I can try but..." he started yet Lucifer followed it with a sigh. He wanted to help; he did. "Whatever it was father wanted Amenediel for I fear it was rather more serious than when it was with me if the doctors recollection is accurate. Amenediel just used to come and try to collect me like a naughty school child, tell me off for leaving and I'd go back to Hell in my own sweet time. They _took_ him. I was never taken". He paused. "I also never removed a human soul from Hell for other means. I never removed a soul full stop". _Malcolm Graham._

"Can you not try Raphie then?" she asked, knowing the other brother had not been there. "Or get him here and I will ask". Chloe knew she had a connection with Raphael and he had that single element with him that might be their key.

"He might be more amiable that is true. For Dr Linda, I will try" Lucifer offered as she smiled a'thank you' at him.

"So what did you do today? Was everything alright with Dan?" That text was still on her mind even if she had deleted it and she did not need Dan starting to get twitchy about Trixie or thinking of getting them back in Court.

"Well I can't say he was overjoyed to see me with the product of your joining, in fact the opposite if I am truthful, but Beatrice seemed happy enough and I had lunch with my lawyer". He saw her nod as she went back to unpacking groceries. "He was at the urchin's soccer game. Your offspring's classmate Joshua is the fruit of his loins."

"Ah, yeah" Chloe replied as she bent down to take a pan from the cupboard. She knew which kid – the one that got dropped off at school in a Bentley. The reasons for the meeting she did not want to press. He had businesses, property, more money than sense, probably things that were not anything to do with either, so she left it. "Well, I will get on with dinner, unless you want to go out?"

"No, no, if you wish to cook Detective, I will not object" he responded with a smile. "Besides which, you haven't made it up to me yet either for having to endure all of those small creatures running around a field for the morning". _Or their mothers._

"So you missed the fact I going to cook for you?" Chloe teased, gesturing at the fresh vegetables on the counter top.

"No I didn't and I am looking forward to it too". Lucifer reached across and took her hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "You make the Devil a happy Devil, Detective"

"I'm glad" she replied. It was not him to be sentimental but she didn't want to talk very much anymore tonight about Dan, or lawyers, or soccer. Her arms went around his neck, lips nuzzling along the line of the collar of his shirt. "Can you try Raphie tonight? Linda's in a terrible state".

"You don't have to use your womanly wiles to persuade me, Detective" he smiled, although he wasn't turning down her attentions for anything. "You asked me so I will for Doctor Linda and Charlie, but certainly not for that false brother of mine. The least I can do is find out what happened or why, but for her and my nephew not him". He was quite sure about that as her palm slipped up his chest. "Should we go for a drive after dinner?" Lucifer asked, his mind ticking over contacting Raphael and all this business.

"A drive?" she asked, leaning away.

"To summon up Raphie" Lucifer responded. "Go somewhere open, quiet. I think this is something we need to do away from your nosy neighbours, no?" He had thought of the perfect spot already and there was no harm with a romantic midnight stroll there either as they looked out over the lights of Los Angeles.

Chloe reluctantly pulled away and nodded, even though the look on his face was making her nervous again. "Yes, good idea. Let's do that. Lets eat and then do that".


	40. Chapter 40

"Are you sure it's okay, Luce?" Chloe asked tentatively and probably for the fifth time as he wound her car up Western Canyon Road. He pulled the car around onto a patch of dusty land and killed the engine and the head lights, plunging them into darkness.

"Detective its... " Lucifer looked at his watch. "Four minutes to midnight. Nobody will be up here to disturb us apart from your usual perverts". He put the handbrake on the car and took up her hand as she scowled at him. "Detective, I was joking. We have not seen another vehicle or walker or weirdo all the way up here and well we can have a little stroll around to check before I try and get hold of Raphie, agreed?"

Chloe nodded, squeezing his hand and they got out. It didn't really help her anxiety but the moment she saw Los Angeles positively glowing below them as they stood at high up in the Hollywood Hills it eased her into a better peace. She loved it up here; high above the noise, traffic, lights, people wanting her attention all the time. Even in the depths of her short lived acting career and the demise of her relationship with Dan, hiking up here on her own allowed her the space to think. The air seemed cleaner too; more breathable. To her left the Observatory was lit up but around them all was seemingly quiet; nobody around. Chloe joined him on the driver's side of the car as they stood for a minute. "How do you do it? How do you call up your brothers?" Chloe asked.

"I just think it Detective" Lucifer offered simply. "It was much easier when I was in the Silver City to communicate with them, and we could speak over miles and miles, but..." He shrugged his shoulders. Those days were good. "It's just telepathy. Nothing particularly special about it; I just ask and see if anything happens. It does depend if they want to talk back to me too but half the time they just ignore me."

"Mind reading?" Chloe asked. She hoped it wasn't. Lord help him, quite literally, if he could hear some of those things going around in her head these days, bad, good, middling and well...lusty.

"Not quite mind reading" Lucifer replied and she breathed an internal sigh of relief. "One thing I am glad I have not been blessed with is that. Some things in this world, even the Lord of Hell doesn't want to know. I see, saw, enough of what people actively say out of their own mouths let alone the depravities that they think about behind closed doors so I am happy to pass on mind reading!"

Chloe smiled, feeling comforted that he seemed calm but that exaggerated rhythmical ticking behind her breast bone was still there even if she was trying to ignore it. "Shall we walk?" she suggested, still wanting to check just this last time if they had company.

They may have wandered for a few minutes, in a circle, through trees and around where the car was making sure they were alone. "I think" Lucifer started as they returned to their starting point. "If you sit here and I can just...well you know". He gave a vague wave of the hand up into the ether. Chloe smiled nervously as she propped herself on the bonnet of her car, folding her arms and he could see she was tense. "Detective, Chloe..." he breathed, sliding a palm up to caress her face. "It will be fine. It will be".

She breathed in heavily. "I know, I know. I know. I trust you".

"Good" he smiled, leaning down to brush his lips over hers, hearing her breathe his name, deepening the kiss as he stood between her knees. She broke the kiss before it took a step too far for public consumption.

"Go and speak to your brother Lucifer before I drag you into the backseat of this car and have my wicked way with you", she whispered. He raised an eyebrow as he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead even though he doubted that she meant it. Without another word Lucifer, stepped down part way down the side of the hill down through the sparse brush to a spot where he was at least partly out of sight. She could see him from mid thigh up on the edge of precipice of patch of hill. Carefully she still watched for other people, but maybe a few minutes passed before, in the darkness, Chloe could see he was becoming frustrated. Even if the area was dark she could see his shoulders were tight and he was shifting from foot to foot.

"This is not bloody working, Detective!" Lucifer suddenly exclaimed, flailing his arms in the air like a petulant child. "Bloody brothers. I am sure they are ignoring me! Just like I told you!"

_"I rather think you are celestially constipated brother. I have to say I found a much easier channel of communication with Miss Decker"._

Lucifer spun around, hearing the ground crunch under his feet, and found his brother sitting next to Chloe on a bench that she had clearly moved to whilst he was otherwise occupied. "How did you?" he stuttered as he watched his brother and Chloe perched side by side.

Chloe looked at him guiltily. "I erm...I asked in my head and well, Raphie's here". She let out a self conscious giggle as Lucifer returned and stepped up to the flat part of the hill, wondering if his brother had been amused by his inability to communicate or for that fact how long the pair of them had been sitting there as he struggled.

"Now what might I assist you with?" Raphie asked as Lucifer hovered in front of them both, not intending to sit down for anybody. This had to be short and not so sweet; get it over with and go home. "I sense it is something that is worrying you particularly Miss Decker?"

"Please will you call me Chloe?" she asked with a smile, feeling very comfortable in this powerful angel's company.

"Chloe" Raphael responded gently and taking up both of her hands. "As you wish, although I must ask before we commence, how is your injury?"

"Oh", Chloe smiled, surprised he had remembered anything about her. "Well and truly healed" she nodded. "Thanks to you of course".

"It was my pleasure. You know you can call upon me any time that you wish". Anyone else and Chloe might have felt it rather uncomfortable or even pervy but not from Raphie. He was no threat to her and she knew it in her bones. "And you must tell me how is Beatrice? Is she doing well at school?"

"She is" Chloe nodded. "She did like meeting you".

"I am glad" Raphael responded. "She is good soul, much like you are Miss...Chloe..." He hesitated in asking anything further as he saw Lucifer standing, arms folded across his chest and clearly rather peeved at the pair of them. Well Raphie more than Chloe but still...

"Erm...excuuuuuuse me?" Lucifer interrupted, leaning over and waving his hand in front of both of them to catch their attention. "Is this some kind of angel-human love in? Can the Devil get a word in edgeways here? It is me that was trying to communicate with you brother after all!"

"Sorry" Chloe squeaked, letting go of the angels hands yet with a wide smile and Raphael raised his head; an expectant look on his face at what his brother might want now. Chloe herself sat back; a signal that she was no longer part of this conversation as she awaited them both. Half of her wondered if she might need to act as a referee between them but she dismissed it as an exaggeration.

Lucifer was direct and to the point. "I want to know what has happened to Amenediel. Father's alleged wish to have him returned to him has rather upset a good friend of mine and separated a child from its father", he stated. There was no need or time for pleasantries and he did not care if Raphie thought he was acting like a toddler or he was being demanding.

Raphael looked at his hands and straightened up. "Father wished Amenediel to visit as he has not graced the Silver City for some time. Father is, however, owed explanations on a number of matters and Father feels it is time that Amenediel be reminded of some of the lessons he at times would preach to others about"

Lucifer had been on the receiving end of his brother's lectures many a time and it was oddly satisfying that the one who had delivered them was now having to explain his perceived wrongs to their Father as well. Not that what he had done was actually wrong when it came to the doctor and the child. Malcolm Graham was another matter. "Ah!" Lucifer smiled, his eyes wide."A taste of his own sanctimonious medicine then?" _About time. _

"In a way", Raphie replied. "But he refused point blank so our brothers felt that they ought to remove him, but he has not come to any harm. Father does not intend that but Father will get what he wants. You know that enough already Samael. Father will get what he wants". It sounded all too ominous and it ramped up the clattering inside Chloe's chest. Lucifer, to her, just looked impervious to it all. Like he had heard all this crap before too many times over.

"That doesn't help my friend", Lucifer responded, rocking back on his heels, keeping a careful eye on Chloe, who was still silent. She was looking out over the city again, mesmerised by the lights and it struck him for a moment whether she was experiencing one of those absences that he had witnessed before. She was not, not this time, but Lucifer was not to know that. It could easily occur.

"I promise I will speak to Father for you Samael and for the doctor and her child. I may be able to pass on a message or two back and forth" Raphael replied with a sense of reluctance. He did not want to get caught up in the machinations between his siblings but something inside him knew he had to. "Tell the doctor that our brother is unharmed though. He has not come to any injury".

Lucifer shook his head and began to wander off again before he spun back. "Is that the best you can do, brother? Just tell her that? It won't help!" Chloe had automatically followed him; entirely unsure what she might do, but it was better than sitting down like a spare part and his body language told her more than his words could ever do. She could tell he was rumbling inside and as much as she could, Chloe tried to communicate without words. She knew she could calm him down with a simple touch as she had done it many a time before, even if her own insides were doing somersaults. "He must come back to be with his family!" he exclaimed, feeling the grip Chloe had on his elbow. It was the only thing stopping him flying off the handle. It did not, however, stop the red flames in his eyes that blew and dimmed in seconds. They left a scarlet tinge.

"It is all I can offer Samael. It is more than Gabriel or Michael would I can assure you of that. Now I must return". Raphie stood up and kissed Chloe on the cheek and with a smile to them both, he departed to the Heavens before Lucifer could say or shout another word. The devil let out a long and frustrated breath before she let him go.

Chloe walked and sat down heavily on the bench that was not far from the car and Lucifer sat beside her. A second later she was about to turn to speak to him when she felt his palm go to her cheek and she was pulled into a kiss that made her stomach flip."What was that for?" she asked, taken aback yet watching his eyes that had now returned to normal after their brief anger.

"No reason", he muttered.

"I don't believe you" Chloe responding squinting at him. He was staring at the dusty floor, twisting and turning the square onyx cufflinks he wore. "Are you?" she hesitated she carried on, just in case she might be toying with his ire. "You are jealous of Raphie!"

"I am not" Lucifer exclaimed, but after knowing him for nearly 5 years now, she had seen that expression before.

"You are! You are jealous that I get on so well with Raphie. Jealous I get on so well with one of your brothers". Chloe knew that was it.

His lips were tight. "I am not jealous believe me Detective. You can speak to who you wish of my brothers; choose to get on with them or not, but I am so used to my family taking things from me. They took Amenediel from Linda. Took him from Charlie. They are not taking you and I don't like..." He licked his lips, trying to find the right words. "I don't like the fact that it has been easy for you to connect with him and he behaves towards you like a brother should, like he should be behaving towards me. My Father's personal creation or not if I have to fly to the depths of the earth to hide you from them I will". They had already lost each other once and, his future so uncertain, that edge that there were teetering on seemed to have grown closer since the incident with Amenediel.

Chloe frowned. "Lucifer, there is no reason for you to do anything like that. No reason to hide me, kill someone for me, fall out with your family even more over me. Raphie is not a threat to you, Lucifer and so help me I will tell all of your jackass 'family' that if I have to. Raphael and Amenediel, like you said, they have been like brothers to me when I needed them most". He got up. "Lucifer, I love you" she continued, hoping she could get him to focus and in herself getting more confident every time she said it. She strode over to him. He was almost standing on the edge of the hill again. How prophetic. "This is you and me now for as long as we can. Yes?" She saw him nod but he was still distracted.

"Chloe, angels do not have...normally, we do not have sexual feelings or emotions associated to love. There is no need for us to behave that way because we do not breed in the way you humans do. We have no need for it. I mean we know about it ...and now I know what it is, it is very nice when it happens but ..." His head dropped and Lucifer pressed his fingers to his eyes. "My brothers will not understand the depth of what Amenediel might tell them; about why he wishes to stay on earth. I don't trust them Chloe and...bloody hell, this is hard". Lucifer's words disappeared into a sigh. "This is about Linda and Charlie, not you and my wild imagination". He sounded like he was trying convince himself.

"Look, Luce" she started, deliberately turning his shoulders. "There's no need to be upset. When...before you came back you know Raphie came to visit me. I was so _low, _Lucifer. He helped me up a bit and we connected to each other. I felt he wanted to help me heal regardless of how he felt about you. He did want to get in touch you, you know?" He nodded but had no words. Instead Chloe carried on. "I get it if there was a real, genuine risk of him...I don't know... trying to jump me like Michael did, but Raphie does not like earth that much to be influenced by all our sin. You know that."

"Detective...I..." he started. He wanted to apologise for all of these thoughts in his head, but apologies from the Devil were rare and there was so much jumble to sift through before he could be reassured that she was safe from any of his families games.

"Come here you fool" she began, closing the gap that separated them. "I am yours Lucifer. I always was, even before all of this, even before I realised it. You are mine". She leant up and wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling his wrap around her waist. "I know this isn't easy for you Lucifer having to deal with all this human business and how it makes you feel. I know that it might not last forever and with Amenediel going the way he has...well I suppose this makes all of this between us even more fragile."

"Chloe..." He sounded so alone.

"No let me carry on. I love you. It's as simple as that whether you are standing here in Prada or when you let me see your scars. No manipulations; this is me". She released him and squeezed his arm. "Come on. It's late, we have done what we set out to do. Let's go home". He followed with heavy limbs and a thousand taunting thoughts in his head.

For herself, Chloe did not want to think of them coming for him as they did Amenediel. If anything Lucifer had more questions to answer than his brother and the rest of the drive home was silent.

Once they got home, Chloe thought she might try Linda even it was nearly 1 o'clock in the morning. If Charlie was anything like Trixie it was fairly certain that the doctor would be up. Unsurprisingly, she was awake and Chloe sat up in bed knees pulled to her chest talking to her therapist and passing on what little news she had. Lucifer could only hear half of the conversation as he pottered about, checking windows, doors, locks. It was almost obsessive before he was truly satisfied that the house was secure.

Closing the bedroom door behind him, he could hear the tail end of her conversation and watched her as she put her cell on the bedside table. "She said thank you", Chloe began. "She knows how difficult this is".

"For me maybe not you" he replied petulantly. Checking the locks downstairs in silence, it had also allowed him to brood on their conversation on the hill even more, even more from everything she had tried to reassure him with. Even though he did not want it, it had riled him that Raphael had responded to her and not to him. Deep down he knew the reason but it did not help that nagging inside him.

Chloe frowned. She knew what this was about. "What can I do to convince you about Raphie? I didn't know playing about in my own head to see if I could communicate with him would actually make him appear within seconds". It had only been a random idea that she might be able to communicate with him being the Miracle Child she was and she had been even more surprised when Raphael sat down silently next to her whilst Lucifer was railing against the world on the side of the hill. She knew, however, that she would not try it again.

"Maybe there is more to you than we think" he muttered, shucking his shirt from his shoulders and stuffing it in a crumpled ball into the laundry basket. He turned away to undo the belt of his trousers.

"Well I don't know, Luce and right know I don't care" Chloe stated firmly. He was pacing around the bedroom, ostensibly getting changed for bed, but even in the simple act of getting undressed she could still see how deep into the crevices of his own mind he was. She was not going to be deterred. Time was too short for that. Chloe crawled to the bottom of the bed and lent on the frame. "All I want right now is for you to realise that I only want you. I don't understand half of this stuff or why your Dad seeks to treat you all so badly because this isn't just you now is it? It makes my head hurt so I can imagine it is even worse for you and Amenediel, but all I want is you, me and Trix to have nice life together. As your own family..." The last four words she did not mean to say but they forced themselves out. He sat on the bed beside her.

"I don't want to go back. Ever. But you know it may be_ necessary". _He saw her eyes fill with water. For goodness sake! She was sick of crying all the time. No wonder Trix was so upset to see her mother constantly distressed.

"When I saw Linda's face, her tears, I saw me again" Chloe began. She had not told him a vast amount about the immediate days and weeks after he left and yes, some of it she had managed to reconcile with the help of Linda and Dr Goodman but it still lingered deep inside. She remembered the feelings of panic, the palpitations in her chest and just this immense _loss_ that accompanied her wherever she turned. Work, home, Trix, Dan, Ella, Linda, Maze. It was all there, all the time. "I saw what she saw in me and I realised just how...how bad I was and...these last few weeks, Luce they have been amazing and I've got every second of it stored in my head because I need to keep us safe up here". She tapped her own temple.

"Do you not think that's the same for me? I have to live this 'life' endlessly and will do so for millennia to come" Lucifer replied, trying not to be angry or snap at her. They were on the same page after all. "Come here", he said, folding her into his arms. "A day at a time Dr Goodman said didn't he? I think that applies to me too, Detective, would you agree? Maybe I need to see him too."

"Yeah" she replied, buried in his chest. "I just don't want you to think that your family, the job or anything will come between us. Not any more."

Lucifer sighed. How little she realised the extent of his Father's reach. "Today is Sunday. Our urchin free weekend has become a touch derailed but that doesn't matter. Come on, sleep. You need it".

Seeing Linda they way she was had disturbed Chloe more than she might care to admit but she fell asleep easily through sheer tiredness. Whilst he and not said anything untoward beyond what she did, Lucifer had noticed that since the conversation with Raphael and the night wore on she would barely leave his side. He had perhaps slept for an hour or two once they arrived back home and, in some kind of effort to order his thoughts, he had left her sleeping in bed to sit downstairs and think. She had found him, woken by his absence and cuddled up beside him. When he showered – just showered - she plastered himself to him under the scorching water and as it was now creeping to lunchtime they were sitting on the couch watching an old black and white film that neither of them paid attention enough to know what it was called. Chloe was practically on his lap, although her eyes were closing again.

"Detective why don't you go and sleep upstairs" Lucifer suggested. "You'll be far more comfortable than draped all over lumpy old me".

"Don't want to", she muttered into the warmth of his chest.

He didn't object exactly but before he could respond his cell buzzed on the arm of the chair. Lucifer laughed when he saw the message. "It's your offspring. She's wanting to let me know she is at the beach and your ex-husband is filling her full of ice-cream..."

"So she is texting you an' not me now?" Chloe replied, desperately fighting her rapidly closing eyes. In the end she didn't mind. "I know my place now it seems when it comes to my own child". It was a joke but her voice was flat. Whatever the message was it was in a string of emojis replied to in the same manner. A second later the cell rang.

"Mazikeen" Lucifer began, wondering if it was about Linda, but clearly it was not. Chloe could not hear the demon's side of the conversation but Lucifer's feelings seemed clear. "Ugh. How repellent humans are..." Lucifer responded to the voice on the end of the line. "When for..? Friday? This Friday?...Really?...Well, if they must...Let me think about it."

"What was that?" Chloe asked. It did not sound good whatever it was.

"Someone who wants to hire Lux for a joint birthday party. Strange human customs but if they want it at such short notice they will have to pay over the odds for it. Lux is not normally for hire apart from a select few". She saw him text Maze back a ridiculous price for a few hours. Yes okay it was the most exclusive club in LA but really?

"That much?" she squeaked.

"It's what Lux would near enough make on a Friday night from its normal traffic Detective", Lucifer replied, settling down deeper into the couch. "And that's an average Friday night as well, not when there is an event on. Maze will attend to it now she knows my price".

She nodded carefully again. "Luce?" Before he could reply Chloe mentally backtracked on her proposed question. "No it doesn't matter. It's intrusive". In fact it was more than that and firmly not her business to ask even if her mouth was about to run away with her.

"Detective" he started sitting up properly so she had to follow too. "I don't mind intrusive questions from you, particularly bearing in mind what you already know about me. I'm the Devil my love. I think that's intrusive enough information already, don't you? Ask away..."

Well if that was the case, Chloe decided to dive into the deep end, feet first and without a float. "How much money do you have?" She knew he owned that whole building that Lux housed, other places up in the Hills and out of the realms of nowhere she remembered the island she thought he had been joking about. She also remembered Dan's comments that she was somehow blinded by the cash he clearly had and that had stung. He knew her better than that or so she thought.

Lucifer laughed out loud. He had not expected that question at all. "You are quite welcome to see my bank accounts, my portfolio of property, shares, bonds... I have nothing whatsoever to hide from you but you will find that it, in all likelihood with property prices over the world it runs into several billion give or take a few pounds". He was so matter of fact about it. "Detective, speaking of money, you know I will make the urchin and you incredibly comfortable for the rest of your lives as long as you let me".

"I won't let you" Chloe replied, pleased he had not dismissed her question or just gave her an obscure answer. Apart from the fact that Dan's accusation had hurt, she had worked for everything she had since she was 17; been careful, saved money and was not about to be a possession or trophy even for the Devil.

Lucifer laughed at her response and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I know you won't". His cell buzzed again. It was Maze with a simple message. _'Price accepted'_. "More money than sense it seems", Lucifer muttered as he texted a thumbs up back to her and put the cell face down on the arm of the couch. "Detective?"

"Hmmm?" she replied, burrowing closer to him.

"On Friday, I will have to be at Lux to host this bloody birthday party for whoever it is. Would you care to host with me? Be the Lady of Lux?" he asked. He could well and truly deal with it on his own but it might be, well, nice just to have her as part of his realm instead of him as part of hers for a change.

"Do you want me to?" Chloe asked, very, very surprised but saw him nod. "Then I will. I'll be the Lady of Lux for you on Friday".

"Thank you" he muttered through another kiss to her forehead. He was getting better at this affection business it seemed. "Now will do as your Lord asks and go upstairs to sleep?"

_"__No"_


	41. Chapter 41

Monday morning rolled around to a rather spectacular start and the moment Dan stepped out of his car to sun-drenched city Detective Decker was on her way out, meeting him half way across the car park. "Body dropped, Chlo?" he asked having seen her striding across the tarmac looking like a woman on a mission.

"Looks like a murder suicide out in Toluca Lake. Found at 6am by the cleaner," she announced; a blue file in one hand and her car keys in another. "Just on the way out there to have a look. Sounds like it's relatively straightforward" she concluded with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Nice start to your working day that is" Dan replied sarcastically as he smiled at her, checking his pockets for his own keys and cell. "Need a hand?" he asked.

"Sure!" she smiled and they both started back her vehicle, Dan noticing that something was missing or rather _someone_ was missing. He was not sure whether he was pleased or not that the Consultant was nowhere to be seen instead of hanging off Chloe.

"No boyfriend?" he asked, trying to make conversation but him mentioning Lucifer was her sore spot and Dan almost saw her shoulders tense the second he said it. He had tried to like the guy, but no, something was still niggling at him and part of Dan could not help himself in prodding the beast.

"Dan...shush" Chloe responded, feeling her cheeks go a little pink. She had not been advertising her and Lucifer's relationship in the workplace and to be fair neither had the Devil, which to her had been a surprise. "He has a few things to do at Lux this morning. He'll be in this afternoon if he has time". She looked across at her ex-husband who was wearing a cynical look on his face. Why was she justifying where Lucifer was? She was not his keeper.

Dan nodded carefully as the continued to walk. "Does Rogers know about you two?"

"No", Chloe replied quickly. That day had to come at some point but really not now. Dan made a noise that could well have been an 'oh' but on that point, Chloe had a burning question for him too. "So you have you told Rogers about you and Ella being together then?" she fired back. He shook his head. "Well then" Chloe responded tightly hearing her car beep as she released the central locking.

"Okay Chlo. I get it", Dan responded with a hand up in surrender. She had a point. "Question wasn't the best one to start with".

"At least Lucifer isn't an officer" Chloe said, opening up the driver's door of her car, the early morning breeze just ruffling her hair. "You know relationships have to be reported and documented. You know the mountain of crap we had with the old Lieutenant when we got together".

"Yeah I remember that" he replied with a smile as he slid into the passenger seat. "You were so terrified you would get disciplined or kicked out".

"Dan I was 21, just out of academy and..." Chloe paused, the absolute fear she felt still far too fresh. "Well, you were... a lot older than me" she continued, settling down and throwing the file onto Dan's knee. "Seven years is a lot you are 21". She remembered it like yesterday. The newcomer who was slightly star struck and very much in love with the more experienced and handsome officer who had been tasked as being her mentor. Coming from a cosseted life of the daughter of a B-movie star to the streets of LA, until the fateful day when her father was shot, was an entirely different matter and finally someone was just interested in her. Not in her movies, not in her fleeting fame, not in taking photographs of her to sell to the nearest tabloid, just her. Chloe had wondered if she was confusing Dan just being nice to her, different to other men she had met, as something more. When he had proposed she had been surprised but she loved him and he had the stability she needed, so, Chloe Decker said yes for a normal life with Dan Espinoza.

"Yeah and well we know how that ended". His voice was flat and Dan stared out of the window for a second before he put his seatbelt on.

"Dan!" Chloe exclaimed, starting the engine. She was annoyed now. She did not need to be reminded of their failed marriage day in day out. "Was that absolutely necessary?" she asked, swinging her head around to face him. "Look Dan, we've both moved on haven't we?"

"Yes" he replied hesitantly.

"Dan? Haven't we?" she pressed.

"Yes we have. But that doesn't stop me wanting to make sure you're okay. Make sure you aren't being played", he pleaded. She could see from his expression that it was very genuine his worry for her.

"What would Luce...ifer be playing me for?" she asked, sitting back in her seat as the tyres of the car rumbled along the tarmac to the exit. "I don't have bags of cash or property for him to take advantage of and before you start, he doesn't take advantage of me..." She struggled for the world as she didn't to be having this conversation with her ex-husband. "He doesn't take advantage of me...personally either."

"Okay, Chloe" Dan replied. "I get it". He didn't believe her. The guy had a rep.

"Good" she responded, hearing the click-click of the indicator so she could turn on to the main road. If she hadn't been driving she would have been sitting there with her arms folded. "Are you still taking Trix on Thursday night?" Chloe asked, needing to move away from this subject as soon as possible.

"Yeah" Dan replied. He would have her for four days and was thoroughly looking forward to it. "Got something planned?" He knew he might regret the question but sometimes he knew Chloe just needed a break as well and for all he knew she was up to nothing at all but sleeping and trash television.

"I promised I would be at Lux with Lucifer on Friday evening" she stated. "He has a some gathering on that he wants me to be at". Chloe carefully looked at her ex-husband. He was frowning and his jaw tense. She had seen that look too many times before. "Look Dan. He is part of my life. Like it or not, you throwing a fit about your perceptions of him makes no difference to me, okay?" So much for them trying to get on better.

"I just don't..." he started as she glared at him as they waited at a light."I don't get how it works between you two. You are different people".

"Do you know what Dan? Do you want me to tell you how it works?" Chloe hit back, hands flexing over the steering wheel, ready to fly off the handle again. _ Stuff those breathing exercises Dr Goodman gave me, she thought. I'm sick of this. _The simplest things still had a habit of tipping her over the edge. Yesterday the poor dishwasher got a berating. She _thought _she felt steadier now. Evidently not. "He listens to me, loves me for me and yes alright he's screwed up once or twice but do you know, he tries 110% percent for me. He comes through when I need him and that's all I ask for. Okay?!"

"Fine."

_"Fine."_

Half an hour of painful silence later, the two Detectives ducked under the police tape and, with Chloe taking the lead, they passed into the small single story house. They found Ella in the living room, kneeling over a blood soaked corpse of a man. "What's happened?" Chloe asked, forgetting her usual polite self for a moment. The silent grumbling inside her at her ex-husband had not dissipated by the passage of time.

"Well" Ella began, glancing between the two and the clear frostiness she could see; particularly with Dan who was just hanging back far more than normal. "Bill Benson" she started, clearing her throat and consulting her own handwritten notes. "Aged 56; your usual middle of the road suburban book seller and cafe owner. Cause of death - GSW - one bullet to temple and over there..." she continued pointing to a younger woman slumped in a chair. "Mrs Benson, Conchita, aged 38, also GSW, right between the eyes, hence the brains all over the cushions rather than the floor".

"So who killed who?" Chloe asked. It wasn't a pleasant sight first thing in the morning. "Do we know?" She was handed an evidence bag with an apparent suicide note in. It was short and not so sweet. "Oh so, seems Mrs killed Mr if that's anything to go by". She handed the bag to Dan to read.

"One of the neighbours said they heard arguing before dawn this morning, goes quiet for a while then just after breakfast she hears the gunshots, calls the police, you can guess the rest", Ella replied, still glancing between the two. Yeah, they'd had another one and she could guess what over.

"Arguing about?" Dan asked, finally finding his voice.

"He was having an affair. Allegedly." Ella replied with shrug. "The neighbour is out the back with uniform. She said it was common knowledge to everyone but our dead lady here".

"Great - thank you" Chloe replied, business-like. "I'll go and have a word. Dan can you over see these bodies?" she asked, trying not to sound terse but she failed miserably.

"Sure" he responded rocking back on his heels for a second, but his eyes did not follow her as with her ponytail swinging like it had a life of its own, she left the room.

"You okay?" Ella asked tentatively watching Chloe's retreating form. She had received a rather happy 'good morning' text from him only a couple of hours ago but now, something had definitely soured the mood. Dan shook his head. He nodded his head in the direction Chloe had walked to the back of the property. "You have to let her get on with it Dan" Ella whispered, pulling him away from the body at their feet. "I know you don't think much of him but he's not that bad when you get to know him...just a little on the different side". Ella saw him grimace.

"She's even playing hostess at Lux for him on Friday" he continued, keeping his voice low too. "I mean what the _hell_ is she thinking getting involved in all of that? Do you know how many times Narcotics have been stopped from raiding the place?"

"Eight times in the last two years alone" Ella replied, trying not to sound annoyed. She understood what he was doing to protect her, but just wished he would let it go too. She also knew how Narcotics had been 'persuaded' not to storm the place and that was a subject she did not want to go into. "Pete told me when he realised who Lucifer was but does it matter? It hasn't happened. Chloe is a grown woman" she continued, but Dan just made a grumbling noise. "Look on Friday we're going to take Trixie to the cinema as you promised her, get take out and let Chloe enjoy herself. Or would you rather she be moping about and miserable like she's been before he came back?!" Ella was getting tired of his 'issues' with Lucifer. "I thought you and he were trying to get on better?"

"I can't do it Elle. I really can't" Dan insisted, shaking his head. The more he brewed about it, the worse it was actually getting. Lucifer sticking around, being attentive and reigning in the innuendo at every turn was actually making Dan more suspicious. The fact that Chloe thought the man genuinely loved her too!

"Well you are going to have to. She's with him and that's that!" Ella spun on her heels. Chloe was her_ friend_. Seems this morning she might just enjoy the company of two dead bodies over her boyfriend.

By the time the three made it back, including a diversion for lunch where Chloe had barely eaten and Ella had tried her best to keep the peace, it was almost half past two. Lucifer was sitting at Chloe's desk throwing jelly beans from a fresh jar on her desk into his mouth as he waited and the lady in question smiled to herself as she wandered quietly across the floor. "Hello handsome" she breathed in his ear, keeping her voice as sultry as she dare. It actually made him jump and a jelly bean went down the wrong way. Chloe immediately felt guilty when she saw him banging his chest and coughing up a lung. This time he wasn't putting it on for sympathy. "Sorry!" she squeaked, squeezing his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Quite alright Detective" he coughed, pressing a palm to his sternum and clearing his throat again. "I assume that was what you earthlings call 'choking'. That was a new experience!" Even his eyes had started watering.

"Really?" Chloe asked, sitting down on the opposite side of her desk, as she took in his demeanour. "Do we have to be worried about that?" She was worried about it already even if he wasn't!

"Do you mean if my human side is breaking out?" Lucifer whispered, smirking as he did. "Don't know. Don't care" he stated as she booted up her PC. On her desk, his cell buzzed signalling a message. He took it up. "Bloody hell..." he cursed, giving a gentle cough; the quite horrid sensation still lingering in his throat. "It's that blasted woman who booked Lux for the birthday party again". He turned the text message around for her to see. "Maze knew what she was doing when she gave her my number ...I'll be having a few words with the little witch..." The woman was a royal pain in the arse. The text was demand for an ice sculpture now.

"Oh crap" Chloe replied, reading through the text but more interestingly who had sent it.

"Care to explain to the class Detective?" Lucifer asked, suddenly intrigued as he exited the message. She could wait.

"She's one of the Mom's from Trixie's school. Kid is called Casey" Chloe explained. "Always got a runny nose" she continued, waving her hand in front of her face with a disgusted scowl. She paused and looked up as a flash of recognition went across his face. "Lucifer?"

He swallowed again. "I think met her at your offspring's football match. Looks like a leather handbag and wears unbecoming clothing for a woman clearly on the other side of forty five".

Chloe snorted and immediately put her hand over her mouth. "Yes, that's her. Her husband's a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills. She's always turning up to school in his Mercedes convertible, pretending she's better than everyone else just because he tightens other women's flowers for a living..." Her comment drifted off as a string of emails pinged up on her screen and they distracted her. She did, however see Lucifer's confused face until she gestured to her own, well, downstairs region. It must have been the use of the word 'flower'. It was politer than 'vagina'.

"Oh" Lucifer replied, finally cottoning on. "Lady garden if you will, penis fly trap if you must..."

"Lucifer don't". She actually giggled at his childishness. She would have to remember 'penis fly trap'. It was clever even if she was slightly appalled she found it funny.

"That explains why they could afford frankly my ridiculous price though", he responded. He would reply about the ice sculpture later. Luckily he knew a man who knew a man who could put one his way for much less than he was going to charge 'Casey's Mom' for her short notice. He put the cell face down on her desk. "Speaking of money..." Lucifer started. He fished into the inside breast pocket of his jacket and passed her a card. A black AMEX.

"It's got my name on it" Chloe commented, frowning at the plastic he had passed to her.

"Congratulations" Lucifer replied, smiling at her. "Excellent detective work, Detective. Use it to buy something stupidly expensive for Friday".

"No" she replied, holding the card back at him in mid air. "I don't seem to recall that I am Julia Roberts and I am certainly not your escort". She wasn't offended but Chloe did have a point to make. This wasn't some Pretty Woman moment if she could help it; she didn't need the things that card could buy.

"I know that, certainly not and don't think I think that, Detective" Lucifer replied, leaning on the desk so he could keep his voice down. "But you_ can_ use that. I won't miss a few bits and pieces spent on it if you wish to be frivolous for a change". He gently pushed her hand back.

"I don't want your money" Chloe replied. She was very, very clear on that point as they almost started a game of tug of war over her desk.

"Well if that's the case" he smiled, knowing how to play this."I will buy you something to wear. Now would you rather be entrusted to me who will undoubtedly buy you something short and incredibly revealing or have control over what I will take off you once the party is over?" Lucifer could tell she was still conflicted but he knew he had her now. "Besides" he carried on, "don't you want to show 'Casey's Mom' that she just _thinks_ she had a lot of cash..?"

Chloe sighed. "It's juvenile and...Point taken" she shrugged, the little Devil on her shoulder winning her over. "But once, Lucifer. Only once. You will take the card back afterwards and cancel it or I will call them myself and do it".

"As you wish. But..." he started, "you are to spend on what you like. I don't care about the price tag". He saw her nod. She did want to look the part for Friday; for him if nothing else. It had been years too since she bought herself something remotely high end; even the dresses she wore for all of those awful red carpets were borrowed. The freshly returned enigmatic, wild, playboy Lucifer Morningstar had a woman and those who attended the party on Friday would know it, it seemed. Her bank account certainly wouldn't help her on that point one bit so she relented. Just this once. "Chloe..." he started, leaning across to take her hand. Her face must have been telling a different story. "I just want to share what I have with you with no games being played and no questions. You know me, I can be superficial, I like expensive things but I, well...I..." He was interrupted and immediately withdrew his hand.

"Whoa Decker!" came a voice from behind her before Chloe could protest again or wait for what Lucifer was about to say. "Can I hold it?" Ella appeared at Chloe's side, looking at the black card in the Detective's hand.

"It's plastic money Miss Lopez" Lucifer replied dryly as he sat back in his seat. There was no limit on the card, but that was fine with the Devil. Chloe Jane Decker had a conscience.

"I know but do you think I'll ever see one of those again in on LAPD wages?!" Ella squealed, holding out her hand.

Chloe laughed and handed Ella the card as she held it to her chest and stroked it carefully. "Perhaps, Miss Lopez, you would care to accompany the Detective on her shopping trip? I am having great trouble in persuading her to spend a little of my money on herself".

"I said I would this once, Lucifer" Chloe warned.

"You actually have access to this preciousness Chlo?" Ella asked as Chloe nodded awkwardly. Just how much cash did this dude have?! Black AMEX, Corvette, Lux?!

"I am trying to convince the Detective here to buy herself some clothing for an event I have at Lux on Friday...and she is somewhat reluctant", Lucifer responded, looking directly at Chloe as he said the last few words.

"I just don't want to sponge off you Lucifer" she replied, face creasing into a frown.

"One dress and a few accoutrements is not 'sponging' Detective. Look," he started, "have a look wherever you want to look or if you don't find anything you like, wear that green dress you wore at the masquerade". He was partial to that dress. Any other circumstances and that night it might just have ended up on the penthouse floor. It did things to him that dress. "Card please, Miss Lopez". The forensic scientist shook her head as the Devil held out an expectant hand. "Miss Lopez?!"

Chloe was laughing now as the forensic scientist shot off to the lab; the card still clutched against her chest. She knew Ella was only doing it to make her smile and she was grateful for the intermission. She still had to get that card back though.

Three days and one shopping trip later, in the end Chloe had found several dresses she liked but nothing her conscience would let her put on his credit card. In the end she added a pair of black heels and a bag that would go perfectly with her masquerade dress to her wardrobe. Ella hadn't taken up Lucifer's offer of use of the card. All of this stuff was a bit too fancy for a jeans and vintage t shirt kind of girl but she had enjoyed the looking and the quiet time with her friend. "So what is this occasion?" Ella asked as they sipped coffee, retreating back to Gino's as it was their favourite haunt. "Dumb me never asked properly".

"Lux has been hired out for a birthday party", Chloe replied, still a little confused. "I don't actually know why he wants me there." It can't be for an ego boost. There were Brittanys for that.

"Well," Ella responded, giving it due consideration. "Maybe he just does or maybe he's lining up something. Getting you involved with his business for a reason..."

"I can see that but why?" Chloe asked, a nervous laugh bubbling up inside her. No, he'd hardly want to share the running of Lux, surely? That was serious, but besides she wasn't exactly Lux's usual clientele and she could never cope with the noise and the crowds night after night. She was distracted from her thoughts as Ella quietly hummed the Wedding March, smiling at Chloe with bright eyes shining. "He won't" Chloe replied, sternly. "It's not him to even think of that commitment – business or personal - and besides, he still has family problems. He might not be staying very much longer". She was all too conscious of what had happened to his brother and did not want to think it may happen to Lucifer too. Besides getting married again to anyone was a firm 'no'. _Especially after the debacle with Marcus._

"Can't someone else sort out these family problems? I mean," Ella started, "how bad is it that he has to go away for a year, _a year_ and its still not sorted out? Must be something serious going down... " Ella wasn't prying and Chloe knew it, but she did not really have an answer.

Chloe sighed. "I don't know. His family. They are complicated. He fell out with his Dad a long time ago and his Mom, well, she just supported his Dad. His siblings too just cast him aside".

"Whoa. What did he do to deserve that?" Ella was surprised but equally that explained a lot about their consultant and his ways.

"He wanted to be himself" Chloe offered. It was really that simple. "Wanted his own mind and his own freedoms".

"So they were just some kind of crazy religious cult people? It's almost biblical!" Ella exclaimed.

"Yeah" Chloe responded hoping her face would not give her away as she laughed uneasily. "You could call it that". She hid behind her steaming cup of coffee, hoping to disguise the awkwardness she felt. It was biblical. Literally.

"Poor dude" her companion replied, sighing at how unjust it was. "I mean I know my family can get a little heavy on the religion front but to throw your own kid out? Nah, could never do that".

"I think underneath it all he wants to make it right though. It just means he might have to go back..." Her words fell into a choked off sob as all these negative thoughts started to assault her. "Sorry, sorry, sorry" Chloe mumbled, putting her cup down and grabbing her bag to find a tissue as Ella pulled her chair closer to her so she could put her arm around her friend. "It's just everything's going so good between us, it's stupidly perfect and, I never thought he'd come back and now he's here I _can't_ lose him again"

'"Chlo..." Ella started. "I don't think I can be much help but you know if you want to talk or just let off steam you can ask me anytime". Chloe nodded dumbly. "Don't worry about it. It's what your sister is here for after all!" Ella flung her arms around Chloe, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Thank you. You've all been so good to me when I have been...when I've been such a nightmare". Chloe was a little embarrassed at her outburst in a cafe that was far from empty. It was another 'moment' to add to the many she had experienced this year.

"We see a sister is hurting girl" Ella replied, squeezing her shoulders again before she released her. "It's what the tribe does for each other". She saw Chloe nod and dab her eyes. "Speaking of which I texted the Tribe Doctor and she hasn't got back to me. Have you spoken to her?"

"Oh" Chloe replied, hesitantly. She had had a very brief conversation with Linda last night as the therapist turned into the one in need. "Its..Its Amenediel...It's the same thing. Their father asked Amenediel to go and see him. It was just as sudden and well, Linda's upset".

Ella breathed out heavily. "I don't know man, his family are nuts, pure one hundred percent grade A_ nuts_." She would still try her again though. "Now do you want to go and burn some more plastic or go home?"

"I need to get back for Trix" Chloe explained, taking a mouthful of the last of her sweet coffee. "Hallie's Mom can't have her too late besides I think I already mortgaged my soul to Lucifer on his damn credit card..." _Selling your soul to the Devil indeed. She had already done that the moment he came back._

Ella laughed. "That's my girl. Come on then! Let's say hasta la vista to this joint and return the precious to its owner!"

Away at Lux it was probably a good idea that Chloe was nowhere near the penthouse or Lucifer. The fury that was clawing away inside the Devil was a sight that he did not wish her to ever witness. His control was on a knife-edge. _"You bastards, you absolute bastards...why can't you just stop interfering in my life?!" _His blood was positively boiling._"No! Not ever!"_

_"Brother do you want Amenediel's fate to be the same as yours?" _Gabriel's voice was threatening and Lucifer had no doubt he would follow it through.

_"Bastards...you are not angels you are the lowest form of scum ever to walk the ether..." _Lucifer could feel his skin start to tingle and tighten. No Detective to distract him or calm him. He was a match for these...creatures... if it came to it.

_"Samael... If you wish we will make a deal if it will make the pill a little less bitter to swallow"_

_"No Raphael!". _His eyes were flame red, fingers clawed and one more word and there would be blood shed ._"Why shouldn't I just tell you cretins to go to Hell?!"_

Some hours later Chloe, away in her bedroom, was about to try on her new ensemble for the second time that evening, just to convince herself it was not too revealing and she did like the combination after all, when she heard the front door open and somebody striding earnestly across the wooden floor downstairs. "Luce if that's you, I'm upstairs" Chloe shouted, pulling her jumper over her head. She hoped it was him! She would be in trouble otherwise standing there in a pair of jeans, bare feet and a bra. She had got over her little moment with Ella in the cafe surprisingly quickly and her heart skipped when she realised he was paying her an impromptu visit.

"Well hello Detective" Lucifer purred as he leant casually on the bedroom door frame. "Now I did not expect you to be half naked already waiting for me but now that you have rather pre-empted the situation..." Chloe laughed but she could see something in his eyes that she did not like; they looked as empty as they had been that first night he had returned and immediately she knew something had happened. Her first thought was news of Amenediel but Chloe quickly realised that it was far closer to home.

Lucifer walked and sat on the bed, holding his arms out to her. She was the first person he thought he could run to. Again.

Chloe, instead of sitting, went and stood between his knees as his arms went around her middle. She knew this was something bad if he was being clingy; only hoping he could not feel her heart racing out of time for all the wrong reasons now. "My father wants to see me" Lucifer offered, looking up at her from where he had just a second earlier pressed his lips in a open mouthed kiss to her abdomen. The flash she had seen of his brown eyes held nothing but heartache.

"What?" This was her worst nightmare unfolding in front of her. It had always been on the cards that he might have to go away again and to be fair, he had told her repeatedly but to see his Father?. She just did not want to listen and whilst she had only said one word, her voice had cracked. Chloe felt as though her whole body had started to shake as she tried to force away the inevitable tears. His Father? This might be worse than Hell.

"Dad. He wants to see me. Raphie and Gabe arrived when you were out with Miss Lopez and demanded my return" Lucifer responded, still littering her abdomen with kisses just needing to feel her presence and the warmth of her bare skin close to him. He had reacted in fury to his brother's demands but to his surprise, Chloe's voice in his head reasoned with the Devil. At best he had been unnerved; at worst he was downright scared and the thought of leaving her again...well, it was...the usually verbose Devil had no words.

Chloe pressed her lips together. He must have been able to feel the rush of blood around her body. She was sure her hands that were resting on his shoulders were gripping onto him so tightly that it may hurt but he did not flinch. "So you are going to...you are going to go to...?"

"The Silver City" Lucifer replied. "Yes, but I don't want to go the way Amenediel did. Forced. I asked for the weekend and I will go with Gabe and Raphie will stay here with you, for as long as I am gone". That was the deal so his Detective and her urchin had some protection. He would go and Raphie would stay. It was the only way he would go peacefully and the only way he felt would give him the best chance. The Devil had gone sensible; weighing up his options and deciding on the one that, well, would achieve his goal.

"How...how long for?" The buzzing that had started inside her head was so overwhelming, Chloe was almost deaf with it.

Lucifer ducked his head and pulled her closer. "I can't promise, but I am not going to say good bye this time".

"What about Amenediel?" Why Chloe thought of his other brother at that moment she would never know. Lucifer simply shrugged his shoulders. "Luce...I can't do this again" Chloe cried, knees going from underneath her and thumping down on the bed next to him, feeling a tear creep through her eyelashes.

"I have to go. My father will make my life more than hell, literally, if I don't. They made that more than clear" Lucifer paused. "This might be my chance though to get him to speak to me, to reason with him. It might get him to leave us alone Chloe". That was his only incentive. What was the worst that could happen? Be thrown out of Heaven again? He had to do this. He had to face his Father.

Chloe nodded carefully; her mind racing. If he could do that; if he could speak to his father then surely? They had the conversation before, how Lucifer could show himself to be the better man. Was this a risk she felt her heart could take? Was him going to Heaven better than Hell? "I know you have to see him...just like before, why you had to go and I still understand it! I just don't like it...Don't like it that he may do something that separates us forever..."

"And I do?" Lucifer replied, not going to stop the tears he felt forming too.

"I'll see if I can get Friday off and we can have some time together before the birthday party". Practical Chloe had kicked in again. It was better than the crying mess that was sitting so close under her skin and threatening to erupt.

Lucifer smiled but the sadness in his eyes was obvious. He ran his fingers through the hair that was resting on her shoulder. "What would you like to do? We can do whatever you choose..." There he went, fulfiling other peoples desires before his again.

Chloe sighed. A thousand thoughts ran through her mind. The beach? Lux? Let him show her that private island where she could scream in frustration at the world? Spend the entire weekend in bed and screaming of a different kind? "I'd like us to have breakfast together, you, me and Trix. Take her to school. Together, then just be here in this house, doing something, doing nothing...collect her from school. _Together._ Explain it to her this time. Have dinner before Dan gets her then we can go to Lux". It was boring, domestic but with a level of surprise to her, Lucifer nodded in agreement.

In truth, he just simply did not wish to _be_ anywhere else. "And the weekend?" he asked as she shrugged her shoulders. She didn't want to think of Sunday especially. Lucifer thought for a second. "Would you like to go somewhere?"

"Another yacht?" she joked.

"Not quite. I have a lodge up in the mountains. Would you like to fly with me?" he asked, taking tight hold of her hands as she giggled out of shock before her face fell serious. Of course, he had wings! Wings that flew him and could fly her too! Chloe had not thought of flying with him until that second and the look on her face told him he had his answer. "Good" he replied as she felt a kiss to her temple. "Where's your offspring?"

"Hallie's Mom is dropping her off in about 20 minutes", Chloe responded, every reminded that life would go on come what may.

Lucifer nodded carefully. "Will you show me what you bought then?" he asked, pushing her bra strap off her shoulder. He needed the distraction and in the end, so did she but that particular activity was off the agenda for now. Apart from the fact her daughter would be home soon, Chloe's mind was racing that much that even the Devil's charms could not stop it.

"Luce..." She warned, putting it back but leaning across and giving him a gentle kiss. "After she's gone to bed. I promise". Chloe smiled at him, hoping it met her eyes. Inside her head though, that little electric spark was back again. "Absolutely promise" she nodded but inside her head there as was that spark again; that shot of electricity and a wave of nausea hit.

She needed to scream. Or punch someone. Yes, that was it, punch someone.

Preferably his Dad.


	42. Chapter 42

Now Friday had arrived and Chloe tried to pretend that this morning was any old normal morning.

She woke at 4.30am again on the damn dot and it was like her heart was about to jump out through her throat. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, blinking away a dryness and the rush of butterflies fighting butterflies in her stomach. She knew she should be grateful for these extra few weeks she had had with him but it made it no better that there were, quite literally, only hours left.

Lucifer had come back last night about eleven from a trip to Lux; later than he planned but, as he put it, Maze was_ 'being a bloody arse'_ about him leaving. Chloe should have been grateful that he told the demon rather than just go like he had before. She had woken to the feel of him slipping into bed beside her and the deep laugh she heard when he realised she was deliberately naked. Barely speaking to her, he had flipped her onto her back and, like a switch had flicked inside them both, foreplay was as good as forgotten. With her hand over own her mouth so they would not wake Trixie all he wanted to remember was the flush of her skin, the slow lazy smiling kisses as she came down from her high and the fact that this woman loved the Devil. She had asked him, when it was all over, just exactly how Maze had reacted. His response? _ 'Believe me my darling, you don't want to know. My liquor shelves took the brunt of it'. _He had left the shattered glass for another day. It was almost symbolic._  
_

Blinking again now at the LED on the clock Chloe turned away, shifting to face her lover who had been snuggled up to her back for these past few hours. She turned in his arms hearing a little 'unf' sound as she cuddled up close. "Detective?" His voice was hoarse.

"Only me" she breathed gently brushing her fingers over his freckled shoulder. "It's early. Go back to sleep". Chloe slid an arm under his and pressed her face to his chest, warming her skin and hoping his comfort might quell the blood pounding around her body for every wrong reason.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Even though Lucifer still had his eyes closed he could tell she was upset; she always got clingy when she was these days or maybe it was just a side she only showed a select few? In his company she had always slept to her alarm but Maze had told him plenty of what went on when he was away; even more tonight in her fury at this news and_ how could he?!_. He learned tonight how little Chloe slept when he was away; the sleeping pills Maze had taken from her and flushed down the toilet, replacing them with herbal ones and an app she had found for sleep hypnosis and relaxation. Chloe didn't have the heart to say that they only worked sometimes but apart from clubbing her over the head (Maze's words), the Demon was not sure what else to do to help so she did her best.

"Just..." Chloe started, trying to nuzzle as close as she could as if his warmth would make it go away, "just feeling a little jittery".

"Can I help make it better?" he asked, even though it was clear he was fighting sleep, his voice slow.

In reality it was a left over from a call she had made to Dan whilst Lucifer was at Lux last night, telling him that his contact would have to start on Friday night, not Thursday as she had almost forgotten with this news. Dan was just about to leave the house to collect his daughter when she caught him and probably, quite rightly as Chloe reflected much later on, he was furious. She had also told him the truth about Lucifer leaving again and she would be away for the weekend with him if she was needed for anything. His comment had been what she was expecting too and typical Dan. _"I fucking told you didn't I? Told you he would be off breaking your heart again! Jeez Chloe, do you realise you've been used!?" _She told him he could just shove it up his ass or he wouldn't see Trixie on Friday either. Or Saturday. Or Sunday. She shifted a little closer to the Devil. "New brain? Neurons that don't hate me?" she joked in response to his question. _Body that stops flying off the handle every time something happens?_

"I can't do that..." Lucifer replied, brushing a finger tip down her spine as she shivered from a genuine chill.

"Okay" Chloe responded, listening to his breathing as it levelled out again. "Just keep hold of me then".

"Done".

Getting Trixie ready for school had been a blur and as the car crawled along through the traffic to the school Chloe knew she was being watched as Lucifer drove. "Are you alright Detective? You look a little grey", he commented, glancing at her offspring in the rear view mirror but the urchin was too engaged in a book to be bothered about their conversation. It was probably a good idea that she was not paying attention. Chloe nodded in response as she pretended, but she felt nauseous again. It could be the anxiety but it was most probably the fact that she had successfully avoided eating breakfast in the 'rush' of getting ready. The slight tremor in her hands as she reached into the glove compartment for the tin of mints she knew she kept in there told her that her blood sugar was on the floor. Lucifer nodded too. He was not going to discuss her not eating in front of the urchin no matter how otherwise engaged she seemed to be.

He turned his attentions back to the road after seeing her take one of the candies, until a voice piped up from the back seat. "Lucifer? Are you and Mom not going to work today?" Trixie asked, even though she was silently pleased that Lucifer was driving her to school.

"No urchin", he replied, gently pulling the car up to the kerb. He was immaculately dressed as usual but Chloe was in sweats. "Your Mum and me, we are taking the day off. We will collect from you from school too".

"That's cool" Trixie exclaimed as she undid her seatbelt and all three got out.

The sun shone brightly but Chloe felt as though she was walking through mud. She knew Lucifer was watching her every move. From the outside he seemed to be making a very good job of looking his normal suave self but that deadness in his eyes was still there. He took her hand, gripping tightly as the offspring ran ahead to her friend Hallie and her Mom. As they walked across the tarmac, Chloe knew she, or rather he, was being watched too. She knew about the rumours that Trixie's Mom was dating_ that_ playboy club owner, albeit they were started by her daughter herself and here he was, hand in hand with her walking across the school yard with the other Moms left right and centre. He looked immaculate; but Chloe was all too aware she looked liked she had been dragged through a hedge and back again with her track pants, trainers and hair wavy from not drying it properly because she simply could not be bothered. Luckily, Lucifer had almost glazed over when he saw her. He liked her hair walking on the wild side.

"Chloe!" Hallie's Mom shouted, waving at her. The girls had run off to another of their friends but they were still in sight. "Over here!"

"Hi Jen" Chloe responded, trying to sound chipper as the three met up.

"I don't think we've been introduced" Jen replied, wide eyes staring at Lucifer's six foot something frame in that manner that Chloe had seen far too many times already. His grip on Chloe's hand tightened. _Crap, crap, crap. Switch it off Luce._

"Sorry" Chloe smiled, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "This is Lucifer Morningstar. Luce, this is Jen, Hallie's Mom".

Lucifer stretched out a hand. "Pleasure to meet you Jennifer", he responded, even though his voice was tight. Chloe had never said too much about this woman but from what he did know, they did get along with each other so he would at least try. The two spawn seemed to enjoy each other's company after all.

"We've been hearing all things about our Chloe here and you. Never quite believed it until today!" The woman's eyes dropped to where he was holding the Detective's hand, nestled between the two bodies as she laughed, almost flirtatiously and entirely out of character, at the Devil.

Chloe saw him paint on one of his trademark, but tolerant, smiles."Well" he started, letting go of Chloe and putting his arm around her shoulders possessively, one hand hovering far too near her left breast. "I can assure you that every single rumour you hear about me is probably true one way or another. Now if you will excuse us. Beatrice!" The urchin spun around, hearing Lucifer's voice. "Have a good day!"

"Thanks Lucifer. Bye Mom!" Trixie shouted.

"Bye babe" Chloe waved at her daughter and was spirited away back to the car after saying her goodbyes to the other Mom. They slid into the seats. "That was _naughty_" Chloe announced as they both settled in, doe eyes staring at him across the centre console.

"You like me _naughty_ Detective, don't you dare try to deny it" he smiled, ready to drive off.

"You got me there" she smiled, shaking her head. His only response was to lean across to her, sliding his palm along her jaw and pressing a kiss to her lips. As he withdrew he felt her smile. "You saw her too", Chloe responded, suspicious but tinged with a devilishness that he knew she possessed underneath that uptight exterior. She knew she had it in her too, but it just needed a bit of gentle persuasion to break out.

"Casey's Mom?!" Lucifer replied, letting the scarlet in his eyes show for a brief second, an eyebrow raising slowly. "Course I did! She was positively staring at you..." He leant forward to whisper in her ear. "I should really have forced those bounteous lips apart, run my tongue on the inside of your cheek, the roof of your mouth..." He drew away, all too aware her mind had wandered as her eyes flickered closed. "But it is far too early in the morning and there are children about", he concluded quickly, the engine of the car firing into life before Chloe could think straight again. Chloe just shook her head incredulously as the other woman, standing on the kerb with her jaw on the floor, watched the car draw away. She knew that Lucifer was going to get her into some serious trouble one of these days, but right now she did not care.

They had no plans for today – intentionally – just going to do whatever took their fancy. "So where now?" he asked, even though he had turned the car around heading back towards her house.

"Can we go back home?" Chloe asked, feeling uncomfortable. "I need to change".

"You look fine detective" Lucifer responded, quickly glancing up and down at her. He didn't see anything wrong in her appearance. She looked perfect in a relaxed, rumpled kind of way. He would like to remember her that way.

"I look like a slob!" Chloe protested, taking a handful of her black track pants. It was the other Moms in the school yard that did it with their immaculate hair and make up. Most of them weren't balancing a child, a stressful job, an ex-husband, anxiety, panic attacks and fuck knows what else going on in her brain with a soon to be leaving rampant boyfriend.

"You look beautiful but as you wish", he responded and as they drove Chloe decided to just take in the moment, watching houses, trees, shops pass her by wondering what was going on in the lives of those people on the crosswalk or the ones sitting drinking coffee in the morning sun. Were they saying 'goodbye' to people too? Lucifer still wore that impervious look he had in the school yard even though he knew full well it was not doing anything to hide his emotions in her eyes. Was he thinking the same things as her? Chloe swallowed away a fierce emotion that suddenly engulfed her. How many people had he had to say goodbye to in his long life? Was she another one? It was too horrible to even contemplate.

Back home, he had followed her upstairs like a lost puppy. Lucifer was far too conscious of every single moment that passed. Yes, he knew this was meant to be a temporary visit that he was making but what could Dear Old Dad do to him? He could do _anything_ and it might keep him from Chloe. In life or in death, Dad could do just that. Lucifer did not know what to do with the black feelings inside him, it all being so strange and new this 'love' that he had found. All Lucifer did know however was that he did not want to be separated from his human until it was the last second.

At his insistence she let him undress her and choose her clothes; a pair of jeans and a light jumper waiting for her on the bed. She did not care he had picked them out, nor that he seemed to be taking control of her. He needed it. She needed it. Chloe did not offer any objections when, before he dragged the jeans up her legs, he slipped his hand into her underwear. She came on his hand with her forehead pressed to his chest and hands gripping like the throes of violent death onto his shirt. Coming down from her high, Chloe swallowed against dryness caused by the mouth breathing she had been doing for the last few minutes. "That was indecent..."

"Yes" Lucifer replied matter of factly before she went for his belt, wanting to return the favour when he took hold of her wrists. "No Detective, I'm saving myself..."

Chloe snorted, blinking at him as they stood at the foot of her bed. "What?"

"Because" he started, putting her hands down by her sides,"I know we don't have plans for today but I have one plan for later if you will indulge me?"

"Of course" she whispered, expecting him to carry on. Right now, in that loneliness that was sitting on her shoulders at the prospect of Sunday night, the Detective intended to indulge her Devil with whatever he wanted of her or for her. "Are you going to tell me?" she asked, catching his eye, pushing the arms up on her jumper.

"Nah" Lucifer replied, shaking his head as he did the button on her jeans. "Shall we go to the beach for a while?"

To anyone else they looked like any other couple in love, wandering along the boardwalk, his arm around her neck stopping occasionally for a brief kiss, or his lips pressed to her temple. He had changed too into jeans and a casual cotton shirt; a suit being completely out of place amongst all the shorts and tank tops. They bought ice cream from the same stall that had been inhabited by the demon and as they sat on a low wall, Chloe had a question and she needed it answered. "What did you and Maze do to that demon?" They had not spoken about it again after that evening.

Lucifer looked briefly at the small pot of mint ice cream that was melting in his palm. "I did... barely anything. Maze..." he began, squinting off into the sun, trying to imprint the sparkling ripples of the bright blue ocean in his mind. "Maze seemed to have the time of her very long life whilst I...well I supervised". It was burying the bits of the body in the sands of the Sonoran desert that did not sit well with the Prada nor the nagging, incessant voice in his head that this was not the life he wanted to lead any more.

"Is that what it was like before? Before you came here?" Chloe asked, a spoonful of chocolate ice cream disappearing into her mouth. She was interested in all of this now, learning about what his life had been like before he met her. Perhaps it would help her understand, make it easier if she could picture him in that other life. She saw him shake his head.

"I was", he began, picking his words carefully. "I was more active shall we say in my role all those years ago. As much as I wanted to see the end of that demon's life, I took no pleasure in doing so".

"Earth has changed you", she mused, dumping the nearly finished ice cream on the wall beside her and rubbing her thumb over his cheekbone before he turned away. How he would long for that simple touch once he was gone.

"It has" he replied, squinting into the distance again. "Wait, is that?" Lucifer said suddenly said interrupting his own train of thought. He gestured to a figure that was walking on the beach, a small child hanging onto her fingers as she strolled. "I do believe that is the good Doctor, Detective", Lucifer concluded. He was not sure what to say or do or how welcoming she may be to him.

"Do you mind if I go over and see her?" Chloe asked. She did not really want to leave his side today but her conversations with Linda had been brief recently and she needed to know how the other woman was. She could see he was hesitant though. "Come with me. She will want to see you Luce, she will". The look on his face was one she had seen a handful of times before, when his confidence deserted him, a vulnerable face that he only let her see. "She will, Lucifer. You are another link to Amenediel. Come on". She took up his hand and they walked across the sand towards the other woman and the child that was giggling away as the waves chased his toes. The Devil himself hung back as Chloe enveloped the Doctor in a warm hug; exchanging greetings and Chloe pressing as much as she dare as to how Linda was doing. It was the Doctor who first greeted Lucifer.

"Have you heard anything from him?" Linda asked shakily, one eye on Charlie as he kept on giggling at the waves, and the other needing to know from Lucifer. She saw him shake his head. "I know you two fell out Lucifer but if you can, can you try?"

He bowed his head. "As much as I might enjoy seeing my sanctimonious brother begging my Father for forgiveness, I will find out as much as I can for you". He saw Linda nod in thanks, before Chloe spoke up, suggesting he might go and get them all coffee. Even he could read the look on her face that she wanted a few moments alone with the other woman. Luckily the coffee shop was right over the road so he could keep an eye on them both.

Linda smiled. "I don't know whether that was awkward or not", she offered.

"It wasn't" Chloe laughed, Charlie toddling over to her as she took the boy in her arms. "How have you really been? Ella said she was trying to get in touch with you".

"I know" Linda replied, guilty that she had ignored the calls and messages. Ella was a beautiful soul, but Linda could not take the sympathy she would undoubtedly be offered. "I've been remiss. It's been...difficult but you know that already...and I understand now completely how you felt. The not knowing..." she continued, so easily slipping into professional mode. "I'd imagine it is doubly worse for you now".

"I know and I have been such a handful for everyone and I apologise" Chloe continued, Charlie playing with her bullet necklace although she was seriously contemplating putting the boy down should he rip the chain. "I'm a grown woman but yes..." she swallowed. "I can feel it already. I woke up at 4.30 today again...only trying to eat because Lucifer would get upset with me. I just feel sick. He's going on Sunday. I'm more scared now than when I was before. This is his _DAD_. Its different this time". It actually felt worse and Chloe brushed a tear away that was threatening to escape down her cheek. This was D-day. Dad-day. His Dad could do anything to him, send him anywhere and he would have no control over it. He could be cut down before he could even think. At least he _chose_ to go back to Hell in some kind of twisted way but this was a demand for attention. "He will find out what he can about Amenediel. I'll make sure", Chloe reassured her before they were interrupted by Lucifer, who was striding across the sand, armed with three coffees. For a second Chloe wondered how he had been so quick but then she remembered he was Lucifer Morningstar.

"I didn't think my brother's spawn would appreciate the caffeine" Lucifer stated, handing over the beverages to the two women and for the next half hour the three just talked of simple things and watched the world go by.

That evening, after an afternoon of one black and white movie during which Lucifer had regaled her of stories of meeting Gloria Swanson and that she 'really must believe him' that he did; and another interrupted by her on his lap probably horrifying the neighbours as she got more than a bit vocal, Chloe's hands were actually shaking again as she put the last of the plates away from an early dinner and flipped on the kettle. She couldn't blame it on low blood sugar now; this was pure, unadulterated adrenaline at how her daughter may react.

Behind her she could vaguely hear Trixie bending Lucifer's ear about her school art project and to his credit, he actually sounded interested. Maybe he was. Maybe she had been judging him again. They had not 'the' conversation yet so not to spoil dinner but Chloe knew that they had to break the news to Trixie as soon as possible. She was going to her Dad's in an hour. That was a moment she was not looking forward to either; Chloe being quite pleased she had been off work today and not having to face him after their altercation. Lost in her own little world she started to robotically wipe down the worktop and Chloe did not realise her daughter had crept up on her as she moved to make coffee until she felt the warmth of her arms around her waist. "Mom?" Trixie offered. "Lucifer was calling you".

Chloe blinked and looked back at Lucifer who was sitting on the couch, looking nervous. "Was he?" she asked, looking down in a panic at her daughter. "Were you?"

"I was" Lucifer responded. "I suggested to Beatrice that we may like to have a talk about a few things..."

"Ah" Chloe replied, "yes". She picked up the two cups she had been making, Trixie getting herself a cherry soda from the fridge.

"I've not done anything wrong have I Mom?" Trixie asked following her mother back. Immediately Chloe felt guilty. The first thing her baby girl thought about was that she was about to get shouted at for something she didn't know she had done. That day in that flash Star-something school suddenly appeared in her mind; that day that Trixie told the school teacher that she pretended to be okay not to upset her Mom.

"Of course not baby", Chloe replied, hoping her daughter would be convinced. "No, this is about the future. About Lucifer particularly."

"Are you getting married?!" Trixie asked, eyes wide in expectation as she sat on the settee intending that Lucifer would be on one side and her Mom on the other. She would finally get to have a step-dad like the other girls in her class, but she would have the best of them all - her step-dad would be the Devil himself. Maybe she could persuade them that she really needed a brother or sister too and she would definitely help to look after her siblings, she would!

Chloe swallowed. "No baby." Chloe passed Lucifer one of the mugs and sat down, Trixie in the middle. "Lucifer...well, he has to go and see his dad..."

Trixie blinked at him, a wash of fear running from head to foot. "You're going away again?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"I am urchin" Lucifer replied, taking a deep breath as the little one's brown eyes started to water. "He has asked to see me so your mother and I feel it would be a good idea if I go". It wasn't a 'good' idea; it was something he had to face, something to brave so he could find a future and more importantly, his freedom.

"I thought you didn't like heaven?" the urchin replied, in a very blunt, very accusatory way that only a pre-teen could do.

"I don't but..." he glanced quickly at Chloe over her offspring's head, needing her to chip in to help him. He could only take the lead so far, so unaccustomed to these customs and emotions. He had spent so much of his life just blowing in and blowing out of people's lives that the explanations the urchin needed were a little beyond even his experience of humanity.

"Lucifer thinks he might be able to make up with his Dad and it might be mean that he can be with us forever" Chloe continued for him, gently pressing her finger tips to his which lay on the cushion behind her daughter. The moment the words left her mouth, Chloe would freely admit that she wondered if she was misleading her child, wondered if she was kidding herself that this was a possibility. It might take moving Heaven and Earth in some kind of ironic a fashion.

Trixie nodded carefully. "Like when I argue with dad when he won't let me have things?"

"And you apologise to your Dad, don't you?" Chloe offered.

Trixie's head swung back to Lucifer. "So are you going to say sorry to your Dad?" she asked, seeing him give a brief, non-committal nod of the head that Chloe could read but Trixie missed. She flung her arms around Lucifer's neck. He found himself sliding his arms around the child after a brief moment of pause and hesitation, trying to decide what to do. It was still not a natural thing for him to do. He was just managing it with the Detective. "Because if you say sorry to your Dad, and if your Dad says sorry to you will you marry Mom when you come back?" Lucifer looked over the urchin's head again towards Chloe, who was sitting trying to keep as blank a look as possible on her face. Lucifer's eyes were wild. It was panic and an intense wonder at whether marrying her was possible all mixed into some head-spinning, heart-thumping melee. For the first time in his life, the human construct of marriage did not look so odd. It had been weeks since he even glanced at another woman, more if you counted his time in Hell.

"That's up to your mother to decide spawn", Lucifer responded, extracting the child from him. "But first I have a gift for you". This was a surprise to Chloe - but a neat change of subject as her heart was racing too - as he produced a red rectangular box from behind the couch cushion he had been leaning on. "You have to take a lot of care of this as its precious". Trixie opened up the box and inside was a necklace - a silver chain with a lightening bolt pendant of black stones that the pre-teen gently extracted from its resting place. It looked expensive and very, very beautiful.

Before anyone could speak or comment Chloe's cell buzzed with a message. She picked it up, momentarily grateful for the interruption. "That's your Dad, babe. He'll be here in ten minutes". _Curse him; he wasn't meant to be here until at least half past seven. Probably done it deliberately to see if he could catch Lucifer here. Little shit.  
_

"Has your Hug Meter run dry child?" Lucifer asked, watching the child as she spun the pendant in the light before she smiled and threw her arms around his neck, squealing her 'thank yous' to the Devil. This time he didn't flinch and Chloe had to stop herself crying at the sight of him actively welcoming one of her sticky offspring's hugs. "I will promise you", Lucifer whispered, eyes fixed on Chloe over the child's shoulder, "I promise, I will come back if you promise to behave for your mother and you will tell your mother if you are upset because it hurts more if you keep it to yourself". Chloe swallowed. He must have remembered what happened at the school too. He had explained it to her far better than she ever could and she heard her daughter whisper her promises back to him. "Your mother is beautiful and strong and it is okay to tell her how you feel", he concluded releasing the child.

"Yes Lucifer" Trixie replied, hand still clasped around the chain. "I will".

"Good" he responded, still watching Chloe but feeling more engaged with her offspring than ever before. "Now shoo, put that necklace somewhere safe and collect your bag for your father. I need to speak to your mother". With that she was off and Lucifer stood up holding out his hand for Chloe to stand up. Without words, he brought her to the front door, opening it and standing her on the porch. He knew he would not be welcome if her ex-husband was showing up soon but all Chloe looked was confused. Lucifer smiled sadly at her, gently brushing his fingertips over her cheek bone as he tried to memorise the feel of the curve of that angelic face as with huge blue eyes, she stared up at him, having no idea where to start. He dropped a hand from her neck and a single fingertip ran down the 'v' of her shirt.

"Stop it" she mumbled. "She is ten yards away".

Lucifer nodded reluctantly and instead, slid his arms around her waist, pulling her closer and pre-empting her questions. "I know you didn't know about the necklace, but I wanted your offspring to have something to remember, not just for now, but for a long time. Something that will last her". She understood his sentiment. She also understood the necklace would not have been cheap and even though she dare not think how much it cost, she saw it for what it was. Lucifer smiled, pleased she had not said anything or scolded him for spending money on her child. He wasn't her Dad, but he loved them both. "I will depart" Lucifer said suddenly.

"Why?" Chloe asked. They were going to Lux tonight and she hoped he might get changed here with her.

"Because the douche is picking up the results of your union and well, I do feel it may be better if I am, well not there", he replied.

"Okay. Understood" Chloe responded with a sigh, flexing her hands over his back. "But you can stay, if you want to. I've told him he has to get used to you being here".

He shook his head. "I have a handful of things I have to attend to at Lux. I will be back in a couple of hours at the most. Get ready to play hostess for this bloody birthday party and I will collect you shortly", Lucifer continued and with a public-friendly kiss to her and another hug goodbye from the urchin, who Chloe had called back to the door, he was off. Driving down her street, he glanced in the rear view mirror to see Trixie waving enthusiastically at him and her mother standing behind her, framed by the glow of the light from inside. Shutting his eyes to stop the tears, he missed the 'stop' sign at the end and the other driver that ranted and screamed at him for not paying attention. Lucifer just flipped him the bird and drove on, not seeing Chloe close the door, nor witness the conversation that followed.

"Mom?" Trixie asked, a ball of something horrible sitting in her chest at seeing Lucifer drive away. She stood between her bags for the weekend, not confused, but scared for her Mom and for Lucifer going back to see his Dad. It felt like she could have made him stay; maybe if she had said thank you more for the necklace or not told her classmates of her Mom's new boyfriend. He was gone a long time last time. "Did I do something wrong?"

Chloe frowned at her, kneeling down to get on her level. "Why do you say that? Is it because Lucifer is going again?" Trixie nodded. "No", Chloe continued firmly, hugging her only child close to her. "He is going because he needs to make it up with his Dad as they have been, well, their fight has gone on too long, but he doesn't know how long he will be doing it". She felt Trixie sigh. "But, whatever happens babe, we will still have each other and he wants to come back, so I believe he will find a way somehow". Unfortunately Chloe had no idea what the somehow was.

"Lucifer is our family, isn't he?" Trixie asking drawing away, Chloe breathing in and out carefully trying to keep herself calm.

"He is", she replied, "but he is not leaving because of anything either you or me did or did not do so you must not think otherwise". Trixie nodded again. "We have to do what he says and talk to each other, yes? Raphie is going to stay with us while Lucifer is gone so he will look after us". She was hoping he might just take the odd message back up to Heaven as well just like he said he would do for Amenediel. Just so Lucifer would know that his humans missed him and still thought of him.

"Mom?" Trixie asked. "Are you going be home this weekend?" She had seen the bag that Chloe had packed that was sitting in the main bedroom.

Chloe hesitated but her daughter needed the truth. "No babe. Lucifer and I are going to his lodge in the mountains. You can come with us you know if you want to if you would rather". She saw Trixie shake her head.

"Ella promised we could go and see a movie on Saturday instead and I want to. I think I'm starting to like her a bit more...besides you need to say goodbye to Lucifer more than I do Mom". Chloe would know that if she spoke now, her voice would be shaking. Even her little one recognised how hard this was going to be for her. "I just don't want you to starting crying again every day, so you have to say goodbye to him properly. I said my goodbye just now and I have my necklace to remember him". How Chloe wished she could see things so black and white like her still innocent daughter did.

Chloe closed her eyes and swallowed. "Do you have everything for your Dad?"

"Yes Mom"

Chloe breathed. "Good".

That second, there was a knock on the door and as Trixie picked up her bags before running to open the door, Chloe stood in the middle of the room trying to calm herself for the inevitable argument that would now ensue. After a few indecipherable words between father and daughter Trixie took Dan's keys and ran towards the car. "So is he here?" Dan offered as he strolled, hands in pockets now, looking around the otherwise empty downstairs of the house, wondering where she had put him to avoid a confrontation.

"No, Dan. Lucifer is not here" Chloe sighed, keeping her voice level and her chin raised.

"Surprised" Dan responded his voice hard. "Thought he would have been hanging off you with him going away again".

Chloe breathed and tried to count to ten. She got to four. "No, Dan" she said, taking a step towards him. "Lucifer is not presently 'hanging off me', but I can assure you this much" she said, stepping even closer, her tongue dismissing the fact her brain was screaming at her to shut up before she said something the custody order might regret. "But he'll be more than 'hanging off me' this weekend if I can help it..." Chloe breathed, seeing the shocked look on his face at how direct she was being. "Now go and take our daughter and leave me alone!"

Dan looked at her, her arms folded across her body. He put both palms up in surrender and walked away.


	43. Chapter 43

Chloe Jane Decker still definitely hated birthdays, even though Lucifer had arrived back on her own. This time it was other people's birthdays.

She was ready to go to Lux, just about, as she gave one last look at herself in the mirror. Her fingertips automatically went to the bullet necklace as it lay against her skin. It didn't really go with this dress but there was no way she was going to take it off. Not now. Sighing, she was not sure how to take tonight. It was bad enough that she was entering into a scene she knew nothing about but she would be faced with those witches from the schoolyard. It was like when she was acting all over again; all the trying to outdo each other, backstabbing, bitchiness. Chloe breathed in and out. It would be okay. This time she had the Devil on her side. She just had to relax a bit and trust him that she was safe in his company and he could see them off. Spinning around again, the emerald dress settled on her hips and she would have to do.

Chloe went to pick up her bag, checking her cell and finding no messages. She had expected at least one from Lucifer letting her know he was on his way, but there was nothing. Instead, however, from her position in her bedroom she heard a loud knock on the front door. Confused for a second - as Lucifer had a key and she was certainly not expecting anyone else - she thought it could be Dan if Trixie had forgotten something so she went downstairs and opened up.

"I am so sorry, Miss Decker" the voice came, a voice and figure that she immediately recognised as one of Lux's burly doormen.

"Hello Jake" she smiled, seeing the black Corvette shining where it was parked up under a street lamp at the end of her path.

"Mr Morningstar extends his apologies, Miss Decker", he started with a smile in response. "He said he couldn't get away to collect you," he continued. "He said to say '_Maze is being a bloody bitch and Casey's Mom is sticking to me like a limpet_'". His British accent was passable. "He said you'd know who Casey's Mom was" Jake concluded, just doing what he was asked to do.

Chloe laughed. "That's fine" she replied. She was ready to go anyway so she locked up and as they walked down the path Chloe had to ask about the Corvette. "Lucifer lets you drive this thing?" Even with the advanced driving course she had been on as part of her police training, he still didn't let her behind the wheel of that particular baby and after her one time of asking and his appalled response, she left it alone.

"He does" Jake replied, "occasionally". He opened up the passenger door to her and ran around to the other side as she settled in. Chloe too found he was much more of a patient, law abiding driver than his boss and she was quite enjoying the early evening drive to Lux as they wound through the streets and traffic. The Corvette must be breathing a sigh of relief with Jake behind the wheel, poor girl.

"Jake?" she asked as they stopped at a light. "You are Lucifer's cousin right?" She saw the doorman straighten up, a very wary look on his face at the question. "It's okay" Chloe reassured him. "Lucifer told me you are".

"Yes then" he replied. "We were, well, I suppose you could say we grew up together in Heaven. When he left, well Fr...you know about Franz too?" he asked quickly, seeing Chloe nod in the affirmative. "Franz and I decided to, well, just leave too as we were bored with it all as well. We found Lucifer a few years ago and well he got us jobs and we got money, somewhere nice to live so..." He shrugged.

"What holds you here?" she asked, wondering if it was the same as Lucifer.

Jake thought for a second. "Freedom. To do what I wish. I have no-one to miss me up there; I have people who will miss me down here so I stay. We both stay."

Chloe nodded carefully, memorising and digesting his words. Before long, somehow slicing his way through the early evening traffic, Jake pulled the Corvette up on the kerb, another staff member she recognised opening up the door for her. "Thank you Ben" she smiled, letting him take her hand to help her out. Tonight there was no queue wrapped around Lux's perimeter but there were a few people wandering in who were clearly here for the party. The two men exchanged the keys for the car and Jake held out his arm for her to take. The small group of women watched her as the doors were opened for her without a check of her bag or her driver's license like them. Chloe smiled slyly as she strode through the wide open doors, past the little group who were muttering between themselves. She wasn't a material person, nor an arrogant person, but seeing those doors swing open felt _nice._

In reality Lucifer had quickly got the party started, as it were, and he had intended to go and collect Chloe so she could make her entrance. Instead he got collared by the gaggle of women and with Maze glaring at him from behind the bar, he got trapped. So instead he sent Jake. Chloe would be safe with him and Lucifer had given the doorman particular orders – to collect her and stick by Chloe's side and bring her into the club, straight to him, no deviations, no nothing. Perhaps being escorted into the club by a bodyguard might have more an impact that the devil itself; particularly with the presence that Jake had. He was not quite as tall as Lucifer but a good few stone heavier and it was solid muscle.

Chloe felt more confident than ever as she stepped down the stairs, forgetting her nerves. Lux was covered in pink and silver balloons on almost every surface, banners screaming 'Happy Birthday', streamers, swirling lights and some rather cheesy dance music that was even too cheesy for Chloe Decker. It was also full, very full. She had no idea 'Casey's Mom' had so many friends although her eyes settled on Lucifer, sitting in a booth with his stalkers. She smiled to herself. Seems, it was time to release her Devil from his limpet but before she could move, from the other side of the room Lucifer spotted her. They were standing half way up the stairs and were easy for the Devil to see. "Excuse me" Lucifer smiled to the four women, fake as it was. "I have to attend to something". He had to get past the one that was called Anna but her hand fell on his thigh, lurid pink acrylic nails digging in. With the Detective so close, he actually felt a flash of pain. "No", he continued, taking her wrist between two fingers and gently removing it. "Thank you but I really have something to attend to".

"What?" Anna replied, following where he was looking. "You have to 'attend to' Chloe Decker?!"

Lucifer licked his lips. A thousand less than polite responses shot through his brain and got stuck on the filter he seemed to have been developing these past few weeks. Instead he leant closer to the woman, gesturing so he could whisper in her ear. "Yes", he breathed, in a slow, sensual drawl. "Night after night after night". He withdrew, voice raised over the buzz of the crowd. "Now will you excuse me?" This time he just got up so she had no choice before he stalked across the dance floor, the most direct route, the crowd parting like the waves. With a grateful smile to his cousin, Lucifer slipped the doorman a $100 bill and with a nod of the head Jake returned to his post upstairs.

Immediately Lucifer leant up to whisper in her ear. "Why do you even let Beatrice associate with those creatures' children?! Get me away from them!"

Chloe laughed as he straightened up, eyes wandering to the woman she recognised as Kristy – the Mom in question - her sister Anna and two other women she vaguely knew from school still sitting in the booth that he had swiftly vacated. They were quite a way across the dance floor but Chloe knew she and Lucifer could be seen and they were whispering and glancing up every so often. Lucifer looked at her as she smiled sweetly at him before he felt her pull his head up to her, lips positively devouring his making it very obvious that she had a call on him. She didn't need to know what he said to Anna; the look on her face told her enough.

"And I am meant to be the epitome of evil?" he breathed against her skin. She just smiled that same smile. "There is a drink on the bar for you. I just have to have a word with the DJ. This music has no class whatsoever".

Chloe let out a short laugh and headed towards the bar as he walked in the opposite direction. "Hey Maze" she smiled, the demon bringing her drink across. It was that same sweet, green goo that she had got so drunk on the night Lucifer came home. Maze just nodded and went to go but Chloe leant forward and grabbed her wrist. "Maze?"

"Sorry Decker, not in the mood", Maze replied, trying to pull away. Chloe, however, did not let go and taking glance to where Lucifer was with the DJ, she nodded towards the room at the back of the bar. She could see Lucifer had seen where they went so knew he would be after them soon. Maze's shoulders dropped as Chloe released her and rounded the end of the bar and they slipped into the private room. Without another word Maze threw herself onto one of the leather couches. "It's no use Decker. Whatever you are going to say to me, its no use..."

"What's no use?" Chloe asked, sitting down herself, pulling her dress over her bare knees. "You know the reason he needs to go back..."

"Yeah" Maze replied, her voice heavy with sarcasm, arms folded across her middle, cut off, defensive. "So he can continue playing Happy Families with you and the small human, be domestic, forget who he actually is..."

"He's the King of Hell" Chloe replied bluntly. "But he's an angel too and a good one. He's becoming what he used to be Maze. Both you and I, we've only had him during a snippet of his very long life".

"Yeah, well" Maze responded. "All I know is Lucifer, _that_ King of Hell and..." Maze leant forward, putting her head in her hands. "Damn it Decker. He and I used to have _fun_, in Hell or on Earth, we had _fun_ but he's just..." She let out a long breath. "He's just following you around like a love-sick, pussy-whipped pet dog; living with you. I mean, the Devil living in a beach apartment with a divorcee and a kid. Do you know he's barely spent any time with his own business and yet again, left it all to me? Everyone just leaves...me..." she stuttered; the real reason seeping out.

"I know you miss Eve" Chloe said, her voice calm. She knew Maze didn't mean it like some would. She was just frustrated, upset and had no idea how to process it.

"She never truly wanted me" Maze responded. She felt like a fool. "It was an intermission on that journey she took to 'find herself'. Guess she 'found herself' torturing him in Hell". Maze saw Chloe flinch at the reminder. She had no idea what had happened to Eve now that Gabriel had delivered her back to heaven; Maze herself was still conflicted at turning her once-lover in. It still had to be done though and it was for Lucifer. Of course it was.

"Look" Chloe continued, shuffling up to sit beside her, putting an arm around the demon's shoulders. Maze froze for a second. "I know you don't want to hear it but we love you. He loves you. He's just utter shit at showing it". Maze snorted with laughter. "I know its soft and 'too human', but you are part of that Happy Family too. Trix adores you and I owe you so much for being my friend when he _pissed off the first tim_e." Chloe swallowed. Anger was sometimes the only way those words would come out without her crying at the memories.

"Don't cry on me Decker. I don't do tears" Maze warned. She knew what was coming but this time Chloe's face was straight.

"He's going. Neither of us like it", Chloe continued, shaking her head. "Do you still really want to go back to Hell?"

Maze pressed her lips together, carefully choosing her words. "This life isn't enough anymore".

"But you are loyal to him and will stay where he goes or not go at all. It's in your nature" Chloe responded.

"Well I can't go to Heaven can I? Imagine me in Heaven. I'd rough up a few angels and get kicked out on my ass in five seconds. He doesn't want to be in Hell, I know that. I'm_ his_ demon,_ the devil's_ _bodyguard_ but having some damn stupid human crisis..." Maze shook her head. How much easier it would have been if they just continued on their 'vacations' years ago, a few months here and few months there, partying, fucking, drinking and not falling in love with stupid humans or putting down roots. Chloe sighed and pulled Maze into a hug, the demon not resisting this time. She was about to speak again, when they both heard the door open.

"Once again, you two are in the same room but you are not naked!" Lucifer noted, shutting the door behind him and swaggering across to the middle of the floor. "Don't suppose you_ could_ get naked for ten minutes or so, just as a goodbye gift to your favourite Devil?!"

Maze was the first to respond as she sat up out of the hug. "Trust me, Lucifer. I'd get naked for Decker in a heartbeat but not for you anymore. Not ever. In fact I'd put _on_ clothes if you were there. Maybe a body bag..."

"Mazey" he started, strolling further across realising he might be toeing a fine line when he saw Chloe staring at her knees. He suppressed a smile when he saw the pinkness on her cheeks at Maze's declaration, particularly as given the opportunity Maze would make it happen. "I know you hate me. I know..."

"I don't hate you, you prick" Maze replied, standing up and walking across to him. "You annoy me, you just do stuff without thinking, and you piss me off, but..." She shot forward and for the first time in a very long time, she kissed him on the cheek. "But" Maze continued, "you and I go way back and that'll never change". Lucifer nodded, one eye on Chloe one eye on the demon, pressing his fingertips to his cheek in some semblence of shock. "I got to find my own way. Maybe I'll find it in amongst these human creatures by the time your Dad kicks you back out of Heaven a second time".

With that she was gone and he turned his attentions completely back to Chloe. She was still staring at her knees. "I forgot to say before, you know, that you look..." He swallowed, eyes dragging up and down her bare legs wondering if she was listening to him. She had that far-away look on her face again and he doubted she was. "I forgot to say you look like shit Detective...That green really doesn't suit you after all..."

"I can hear you, you freak" Chloe replied, raising her head before she stood up. She walked across to him, standing very very close and knowing he was joking to get her attention, "but for that, don't think you are getting any from me tonight".

The corner of the Devil's mouth curled up. "The Devil likes a challenge Detective, but you know that already".

"Sure you do" she replied, reaching up and biting his bottom lip, pulling it and let it go with a pop. It was not too hard but enough to catch his undivided attention before she walked out, with a question. "Are you coming to dance with me then?" Chloe didn't look back because she knew he would follow.

For a good few hours, Chloe almost wore herself out dancing with or without Lucifer wearing off some of that anxious rush in her stomach through sheer exertion. A _lot_ of the Mom's from the school were there but with more of that sweet green goo in her system, Chloe found herself not caring what they thought, engaging in conversation with those she chose to and standing side by side with Lucifer as though she owned the place too, albeit bolstered by him whispering support in her ear. For the first time in a long time, she felt free and as it approached midnight, she felt a pair of arms slide around her waist from the back as she leant against the bar, drifting far too close to where hip met thigh. She was about to kick out when the barman nodded at the person and pulled down a bottle of Macallan from the shelf. Shielded by her hair, Chloe smiled as she felt lips pull on her earlobe. "I think", a deep British voice followed, "that you are still being watched". She breathed in. Yes, he was probably right. She had taken odd glances over at the coven who never seemed to leave each other's sides but hadn't gone to speak to them. Before she could answer, Lucifer addressed the barman. "Patrick darling", he started, throwing down the glass of whiskey he had been presented with. "Would you be so kind, if anyone asks for either Miss Decker or me, to let them know we are upstairs and not to be disturbed?"

"Sure boss" Patrick replied. He had seen enough men and women dragged up those stairs to know what that meant but Miss Decker had stuck around much, much longer than any of the others.

"Except", Lucifer carried on, "if it is concerning our Beatrice". He did not have to explain to the barman just who Beatrice was and he nodded again. Somewhere deep inside her brain, Chloe registered he had referred to Trixie as 'theirs' and the thought settled happily. "Let all the staff know". Patrick nodded and smiled at Chloe pushing another green glass to her and she took a sip before they turned. "Seems the party is getting on with itself. Shall we take the other lift up?" he asked.

'Other lift?' Chloe thought until she realised. That tiny little service lift that was just by the booth where the coven was. Fuck it. Why not? "Sure" she replied, feeling his arm go around her waist and once again the crowd parted for him as he cut their way through. They were standing by the coven as Lucifer produced the key for the lift, opened it up without a word and as he pressed the 'up' button, pinned Chloe to the wall with his entire body and dived for her neck. She knew he was making a point, but yeah, fuck it. Fuck it twice over. She might never get this opportunity again to annoy 'Casey's Mom' so she rolled with it.

The doors closed on the party and Chloe relaxed not realising what was going on at home or what was coming for her.

Dan did not need this; being called into work when the Lieutenant couldn't get hold of Chloe. He rapped repeatedly on the door of her house, cursing silently under his breath. It didn't help it was so late. She was probably asleep or underneath that joke of a civilian consultant. When he was getting no joy and after another call from the boss, he went to the only place he knew she could otherwise be - Lux. The moment he switched on the ignition of the car he remembered. Of course! That damn party! No wonder he was getting no answer...

He made it there on blues and twos in double quick time; the badge on his hip gaining swift entry past the doormen. Moving quickly in to the club, he lent over the bar. "Maze!" The demon noticed him and wandered over. "Where's your boss?" he shouted over the music.

"In there last time I saw", Maze gestured into the throng of bodies on the dance floor. She had orders and knew exactly where he was, but there was no harm in playing around with the other Detective for a minute. For sport. Dan turned to the crowd just below him. Underneath the dim lights he could barely tell man from woman Lux was that full and the birthday party was well and truly in full swing. "He'll be the one sucking your ex-wife's face off if you can find him".

"Thanks Maze" Dan responded flatly. He walked back up towards the stairs. If he had the advantage of height it might help. Pulling out his phone he tried her again, but Chloe still wasn't answering her cell as it rang through to voicemail. He was not going to leave another message. Dan shook his head and scanned the crowd again. No sign.

"Alright!" Maze exclaimed, appearing at his side. "If it's really that important. Is it about the small human?"

"It is important" Dan replied, "but no Trixie is fine". He watched a brief exchange between Franz, who was standing in front of the lift, and the demon and followed her in.

Dan could almost feel Maze smirking for some reason as they stepped out of the lift as it drew up to the penthouse floor. It was almost as though she_ knew_ that he would be faced with his ex-wife straddling the playboy's lap, gentle breaths escaping from her throat as his hands, underneath her dress clamped onto her hips controlling her movement. "Chlo?"

Chloe heard her name under the haze and the beat of her heart. A second later it dawned her who had shouted it and with a squeal she shot off Lucifer's lap, not caring if he was decent or not, trying and failing to pull down the hem of the emerald dress she was wearing. Still in her heels, too, she almost turned her ankle in her haste to get away. She looked up to see her ex-husband's back to her trying to preserve what little modesty she had left. At least he owed her that, until he saw Maze fold her arms, laughing at the sight before her. "Lucifer, Decker, I know you told me to leave you alone, but you have a visitor. Apparently it's important" With another look and a laugh, Maze strode off into the elevator.

Chloe was mortified, even though the pair were still well and truly clothed. They had only been upstairs barely thirty minutes and after the quickie when Lucifer pulled her out of the service lift and pinned her against the bookshelf, they were taking this time slowly. Lucifer however, looked furious at the interruption as he shoved his shirt angrily back into his trousers. "Has something happened to Trix?!" Chloe asked, panicking. That could be the only reason that he would actually come to Lux to _find her_ rather than call.

Dan shook his head quickly. "Ella's got her, she's fine. Asleep the last time I saw her. It's work".

"Work?!" Lucifer exclaimed, moving forward ready to throw the other man out of the penthouse. "You interrupt..." He was stopped by Chloe shoving an arm into his path to stop him. "Detective Dou...Daniel" he started breathing away any semblance of feeling that had been aroused these last few minutes. "Pray tell, then, why does the station require Detective Decker's presence?"

"Rogers wants you in", Dan started, feeling safer to take a few steps toward her. "The murder suicide from the other day isn't a murder suicide. Uniform are bringing in their daughter. She tried to make a run for England. He wants her questioned, and questioned now. By you..."

"What?" Chloe replied, frowning a wave of exhaustion suddenly engulfting her. Why now?!

"Apparently she said a few things she shouldn't have done to a work colleague and well, the numbers added up..." Dan explained from what little had been told when he had been sent on his quest. "I've been trying your cell, but didn't answer although you were clearly otherwise engaged". He gestured towards Lucifer who was doing up his belt.

"It's..." Chloe responded, looking slightly confused as her eyes darted around to room to find her phone. "It's somewhere here". She spotted it peeking out from underneath a cushion where, she suddenly remembered, Lucifer had shoved it so any calls would be muffled and hopefully not heard.

Dan shook his head. "You need to get back to speak to her with me".

"Yes, yes, I should" she stuttered, tottering over and grabbing her cell and bag as Lucifer grumbled along at the interruption to their evening. A few minutes later they were in the lift, Chloe in the middle of the pair feeling guilty and embarrassed that she had been caught like that. She was a grown woman but it still made her feel like a teenager caught by Mom. Dan was standing with his back to the side of the lift, arms folded and really not sure how he felt at being presented with the evidence of their relationship in those little breaths she was making; ones he was more than familiar with from days gone past.

"So how long are you going to be away for this time?" he asked Lucifer, clear he knew of the Devil's soon departure.

Chloe's head shot up and she saw Lucifer move. Her arm across his middle stopped him again. "Don't" she whispered. She knew he could flatten Dan in a split second and she really did not want to explain to Rogers why one or both of his staff turned up for work with a black eye.

"Is it your business?" Lucifer asked, feeling that rumble deep inside. He would not reveal himself but all the interruptions in the world and it had to be work and Detective Daniel Douche in one annoying combination.

"It is when we have an 12 year old daughter it the middle of it all..." Dan started. "Just... be careful, Chlo. That's all I ask for. For our daughter's sake". Chloe's eyes dropped to the floor. If she ever had to choose it would be Trixie each time. She looked up as he carried on. "As long as my daughter does not get hurt in this... _fucktangle_...I..." In truth Dan had started to wonder if he knew his ex-wife at all. The shoes, the dress, the false eyelashes. "I...we've moved on and I accept that".

Lucifer smiled, turning up the barely disguised smugness in his voice. "I am grateful for your understanding". He put his arm around Chloe's shoulders, around her neck, possessively before she shoved him off.

"Not here", she snapped and the ride to the station was held in stony silence.

To his credit Lucifer waited for her at the precinct; the night somewhat ruined, but he was not exactly enjoying the party either. He sat for maybe an hour, messing with the Newton's Cradle on her desk, drinking coffee and yes, there was a brief nap sprawled out in her chair. He even took himself off to get a snack and was gone when Chloe returned to her desk and finding a note explaining his absence. Still dressed up for the party, it had been more than uncomfortable for Chloe to be questioning a suspect like this, but needs must and it got a confession without the help of a certain mojo. She slumped in her chair; Dan on the other side of her desk. She looked up and saw an expression on his face that she knew well. "No more lectures please Dan". Chloe's head was banging. She pressed both palms to her face, not caring she took some of her mascara with it. She needed a shower, to take off her make-up, drink plenty of water and sleep. She also needed to get out of this dress as she had been leered at least three times by uniform on her way in.

"It's not a lecture Chlo. I couldn't say it with him there before", he said, leaning on her desk. "But, whatever happens or doesn't happen between you two, I will _always_ have your back and I will always love you. Here, at home, wherever. I know I royally screwed up, but _please_ be careful. It's not me being a dick..." He heard her whisper 'I know', but he carried on. "You know I don't trust him Chlo. I tried but I can't. Have you asked where he gets all his cash? All the money to buy you those shoes? That thing?!" he pointed to her black leather, and very expensive, purse that was on the corner of her desk. "Do you know how much it cost?"

Chloe swallowed back exhausted tears. She put the purse on the floor out of sight as Dan just looked at her. He had seen how out of control the man could get. There was a hair trigger in him and it would only take one thing for him to flip, Dan was sure about it. Maybe it was a good idea he was going again. "Dan I'm tired. I've had enough of today and I need to go home", she pleaded.

"Of course. You have your weekend to consider". Dan realising he was going to get nowhere with his ex-wife in that state and it was not said harshly. "And I need to get back for Trix".

Chloe nodded, sat back in her chair and closed her eyes. A second or so later she felt a hand rest around her throat, not aggressively, but firm enough to cause her breathing to constrict slightly. To anyone else it might have looked or felt threatening. Instead Chloe simply accepted it as it never could be. "Do you want to go home?" Lucifer asked, his voice low and quiet, caring even. The touch on her neck relaxed a little and she looked up.

"Yes please. We can't do anything more until we get the daughter in front of a Judge anyway and that'll be Monday"._ After you've gone_. "No chance we'll get one to process her in the small hours of a Saturday morning".

"Very well" Lucifer replied, his hand still resting on her throat and his face wearing a look that Daniel could not read. It was almost possessiveness and intimidation rolled into one. In truth, Lucifer was feeling rather frazzled himself and had had every intention of taking her back home and falling into slumber until they left for the Lodge. He had not expected the night to end like this at all. Chloe yawned and nodded sleepily. "See?" Lucifer said, deliberately directing the question at Daniel. "I can be trusted to take care of her".

"Boys" Chloe began, very quickly getting to the end of her tether. "Please don't start. I'm not in the mood for a 'who's got the biggest dick' competition over me".

"You're not?" Lucifer responded his voice laced with faux surprise as he looked down at her. "Shame. There is a first time to try anything and you might have enjoyed judging it, you know".

Chloe shook her head in despair and out of his grip. She grabbed hold of the $600 purse from the floor. She did know how much it cost. She bought it, albeit on Devil Credit. "I am going home and if one of you don't follow me I am getting a cab without you".

Dan dropped his head as she stomped past, the click of her heels almost punching holes in the floor of the station. "Go after her man", he muttered towards Lucifer.

The journey back to Chloe's house had been spent mostly in silence too; Chloe wondering why he wasn't speaking to her and Lucifer wondering if he might get yelled at if he did, just like in the penthouse. For a grown Devil he had no idea how to act in situations like this. He had half planned they would party the night away and then fall into bed at the penthouse; leaving for the Lodge before dawn broke. Instead they were on their way to her house in the blackness of the early morning with Chloe nearly asleep in the passenger seat. He parked the car on the street and they got out, Chloe opening the front door to the house as he followed.

"Luce?" she started, as the pair were still standing in the dark. He had only just about closed the door behind him and he heard the click of her shoes again walking the few paces back to where he was standing. Lucifer felt her flattened palms arrive on his chest. Maybe he was forgiven for whatever it was he thought he had done wrong. Maybe he should button his lip around the Douche now. "I'm not mad at you" she started, those hands running down his abdomen as her forehead hit his chest. "I'm not mad at Dan either. I'm mad at this situation. Mad at being called into work when we should have been at Lux". Lucifer rested his chin on the top of her head. "Me and Trix we will always be here for you Luce, you know". Her voice sounded so plaintive.

"I am coming back, Chloe" he started. "The sky could fall in and it would not stop me. I will fight Dad every step of the way even if have to apologise for every word I said to the arrogant bugger, whether I mean it or not".

She breathed in the scent of his heavy cologne; torn between dropping to her knees and wrapping her mouth around him, an act that might make him forget his name but never her, or suggesting they went to the Lodge now and did it there. It was almost as though he read her mind. He gently raised her chin. "Shall we go now? I'll take our bags and come back for you. Get changed into something more flight friendly and something warm. Its chilly up there this time of day". Already this evening he had taken yet another bag of his possessions at Lux and it was in the trunk of the Corvette. Chloe nodded her head.

"I'll be back before you can blink".


	44. Chapter 44

When Lucifer talked about a lodge Chloe had in her mind something slightly more grand that this. After all this was Lucifer Morningstar wasn't it? He did big, brash, expensive, yet this was more of a log cabin, if you asked her opinion on it and Chloe was happily surprised that he chose somewhere so, just, well like something she would pick for a little holiday for her and Trix.

As he placed her gently on the ground, having taken them effortlessly from the heights of Lux's balcony, Chloe's legs wobbled and she almost fell as the heavy soled ankle boots she was wearing settled into the snow. Snow?!

"Sorry", she whispered, hands planted on his chest for stability, blinking and feeling a more than cool breeze assault her. "That was a bit of a head rush all that...flying..." She blinked again, trying to clear her head of the million thoughts that were running around it. Flying. In the arms of an angel. Flying...Could you get altitude sickness on Devil Air? It felt like she had been smacked over the head with something as her brain struggled to comprehend what had just happened. She had _flown_. With her arms around an _angel's _neck as he held her tight to his chest.

"Maybe I should have experimented with a shorter flight first..." Lucifer mused, taking in her rather stunned expression and a little upset with himself for being so blind to her wellbeing. He pulled out a set of keys from his pocket as she held onto his arm.

"No, no, its fine" Chloe breathed, eyes fluttering open and closed as she took in their surroundings; heavy as they adjusted to the early morning light. She had actually fallen asleep as they soared over the city from the balcony at Lux, nestled into the warmth of the huge faux fur hood on her coat and his shoulder. Chloe would admit that she actually had no idea how long they had been up there for but the sleep she had was rather satisfying. Either that or maybe she had been unconscious and she could expect brain damage from the lack of oxygen from the height! Chloe didn't know and frankly didn't care right now. They had left in the early morning long before dusk and it was still not light; the sky a smoky grey blue all around them. Once she found her voice again, Chloe had one question. "Where are we?"

Lucifer smiled. "Welcome to a rather exclusive village just outside Vail" he said, gesturing around them at the vast landscape.

"Colorado?!" Chloe spluttered as her head swung from left to right, still hanging tight on his arm. The sky was that cross between night and day and they were so high up over the world. Down below she could see the lights of a village and they were just surrounded, surrounded by crisp, bright and white freshly fallen snow.

"Of course, Colorado, Detective. I fancied some snow" Lucifer replied, but he was unsure of her reaction. "Do you object?" He was still half holding her up and wondering if he had done right because it had to be that way. It had to be right.

"No, no of course not", Chloe replied, letting go of him and shoving her hood off so she could look around properly. This place was _beautiful_. There were no other words to describe it and no wonder he found a spot up here. He certain did like the finer things in life and this was certainly one. "I thought you meant Yosemite or something. Not _here. _It was just a surprise". She finished with a self conscious giggle.

"You know I don't do things by halves Detective" Lucifer smiled as he handed her the keys. "Go on then. After you", he encouraged, gesturing towards the wooden door of the cabin that was lit up, glowing and nothing but welcoming.

Carefully Chloe took the keys and trudged maybe ten feet, kicking off snow from her boots as she stood in front of the door. She looked one more time far over the lights of the village and she knew without asking why he had chosen this place. She turned the key in the door, hearing it creak and stepped a few paces in until he closed it behind them. Warmth immediately hit her as she revealed an open plan downstairs with a sitting room and a fire already crackling away on the hearth that he must have stoked before he came back to her. Their bags were on the floor at the back of the couch where not so long ago he had left them and indeed made sure that fire was roaring away for them.

All the way to the right along the back of the cabin stood a table and chairs which flowed into a kitchen to their left. Chloe saw a closed door that she assumed was the bathroom. There was also ladder to the left too leading up to a platform on wooden stilts covering the entire back of the upper floor over the kitchen and dining room. On it a futon bed lay, buried under silver, grey and white blankets, comforters, furs and wools. As her eyes wandered to the right of the bed there was also a free standing clawfoot bath tub at the other end. She did not need a tour because it was all laid out in front of her and the 'lodge' was tiny but rather perfect. It was so different to the silks and satins, dark woods and low lights of Lux.

"I think" Lucifer started, standing immediately behind her as the temperature change from outside to inside caused her to yawn, "maybe you should have another nap and I can go down into town to purchase us some breakfast? Say yes, Detective?" Chloe nodded instead but he got his answer. Her eyes were actually closing again; the only sleep she had actually had in this last 24 hours was on the 'flight' and the warmth from the fire was almost overwhelming.

Chloe felt his arms go around her shoulders and a kiss pressed onto the crown of her head, before he released her and tapped her on the ass. "Go on upstairs. I won't be long". He got a murmur of agreement from her and with that he was gone, the door clicking shut behind her. Chloe yawned again, casting her eyes around the simple cabin again, smiling to herself.

Stepping forward she picked up the smaller of her bags; the one that had all her toiletries and pyjamas and yeah, she need a nap again. It was not as though she had work or a child to attend to and this time, it was time to herself. As she slung the sports bag over her shoulder the ladder creaked as she made her way up to the platform above.

Putting the bag down Chloe realised that along the whole of the back of the upstairs were floor to ceiling windows which gave her a most spectacular view of the mountains; mountains that were deep, deep in that heavenly – oops - snow. Pine trees littered the landscape too and putting her palms flat on the glass, Chloe closed her eyes imprinting the image in her head. Completely unbidden, a tear crept out and slipped down her cheek before she swiped it away. "Stop it" she whispered to herself. "He's coming back. He said so". Chloe swallowed and decided to explore a little more upstairs before she took her nap, stripping off her navy blue padded coat and dropping it on a wicker chair.

Walking across the platform she ran her fingers over the rim of the white porcelain bath before she looked up at built in wardrobes on the opposite wall and another little door. She pushed it and found a small room with only a toilet and a sink.

Turning away her attentions they led her to the bed, and picking up her coat again she took her cell phone out of the zipped pocket inside. No messages, no calls, no nothing. She looked at the clock on her phone. 5.07am. No wonder she was tired, but where the hell – oh no, not that word; jeez - oh crap, that's even _worse_ – where was he getting food at this time of day? Chloe shook her head and decided not to be concerned. This was a man that could probably conjure up a swimming pool in the Sahara after all so she let it be.

She was about to lie down when she remembered something from last night. Flipping through her phone she found the photograph that Trixie had insisted they take. Chloe, Trixie and Lucifer like a little happy family, just like Maze had said, except the adult's smiles...Chloe sighed. There was something missing; in her eyes and his and she knew perfectly well what it was. Quickly she flicked away from the picture and dropped her cell on the bed.

Taking off her boots and socks and turning her attentions to the now, Chloe lowered to her knees onto the vast futon and fell face first, scrambling up the bed in amongst the luxurious blankets and furs. Burying herself underneath them all, she breathed in the smell of freshly laundered sheets letting her muscles relax as much as they could these days and burrowed further down until she was, in effect, buried. She was, however, still feeling too tense to sleep and Chloe spun her phone back upright in her hand opening up the relaxation app that Maze had uploaded long ago. She had not used it in a while but there was no harm in trying, was there?

By the time Lucifer had made it down to the town and back, she was out cold, drowned in her haven of blankets.

Lucifer opened the door carefully, a package – French Crepes from his favourite baker - in his left hand. Mr Vinchenzi was _always_ on hand for Lucifer Morningstar - he was paying his debt off in food and neither the Devil nor the baker objected. The lodge was quiet apart from a soothing male voice and it caused Lucifer to hesitate. For a second he was confused feeling a flash of something he could not place before he followed the noise. As he reached the top of the ladder, Lucifer put the box of food on the floor and saw the source – her cell phone - and for some strange reason felt relieved the voice was only that. He shook himself. Oh come on Morningstar, you've only been gone twenty minutes at best! Would she really? Since when was the Devil insecure? Yeah, since he knew he was leaving her behind again.

Putting aside his own stupidity he regarded her with a smile. Chloe had buried herself so well in the blankets that all he could see was the top of her dark hair, wrapped up in a messy bun and her bare feet and ankles sticking out at the other end. If she did not need all the sleep in the world he might have snuck across and tickled her but this time he refrained.

He stepped up the last few rungs of the ladder and picked the food up again, this time to put it on a small cabinet. Following her, Lucifer shrugged off his coat, shoes and socks and crawled onto the bed, trying to actually find the rest of her as he picked his way amongst the fur and wool and failing quite miserably. Chloe stirred, so instead he just lay beside her, lifting the blanket she had over her face, fairly sure she mustn't be able to breathe properly under there. He had shut his eyes for barely thirty seconds when he felt her move. "Luce?" Her voice was heavy with sleep.

"Yes Angel?" he whispered.

"S'okay, just checkin' it was you", Chloe replied, barely able to form a sentence.

"Course it's me", he replied with a quiet laugh, the comment ripe for a flirty response but he stopped himself. "I've got crepes..."

"Chocolate sauce?" she mumbled.

"And raspberries" he smiled as she woke a little more and Chloe sat up, rubbing her eyes. She stopped the app and shifted so she was facing him as Lucifer was still lying down, his head propped up on an elbow. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

"A little" Chloe replied, leaning down again so she could kiss him; a lazy, slow, sleepy kiss. Lucifer positively purred as her fingertips explored the stubble on his jaw before she withdrew. "Let's eat downstairs though. I don't want to get chocolate sauce on this bed".

He smiled. "Okay. We can make a mess in here with something else later", Lucifer suggested. This time it was not full of innuendo but Chloe tutted and pushed him in the chest as she untangled herself from the blankets. She shuffled off and turned to go down the ladder backwards as he moved off the bed too and followed her down.

They sat on opposite sides of the dining table working their way through the freshly cooked and still warm breakfast, when Chloe noticed, through the small window, another building at the back. "What's out there?" she asked, waving a piece of torn crepe in mid air. It just looked like an outhouse.

"That" he said, following the line of her hand, "it's, erm, it's a hot tub".

She gave him a 'really?' look with one raised eyebrow. It was not a look of interest; more of cynicism. "Don't look at me like that" Lucifer replied, dipping a raspberry into some left over sauce. "I had it put in before you became..." He stopped realising what he was about to say would seriously cut off his privileges for the weekend. "Before I met the real Chloe Decker. Not the one with her tits out on the television". He winked at her.

Chloe sighed. That was probably a veiled compliment underneath there, _somewhere. _She pushed her plate towards him, still with a half crepe on it. "Eat that. I don't want it to go to waste".

"Sure?" he asked carefully, and saw her nod pushing the plate a little further towards him. Chloe got up, half deliberately to avoid any further conversation about her eating habits but also to take their bags upstairs to unpack. He was about to take hold of the leftovers when he paused. "Chloe?" he asked, causing her to hesitate at the use of her real name. "Before you go, bring over that smaller bag of mine?"

A palpitation bumped against her breastbone as she picked up the tan leather holdall, bringing it over to him. From it he took a thick envelope and Chloe looked at him with concern. "Can you sit down again? We just need to..." he asked, gesturing at the package on the table. She sat down back where she had been before and watched him push the envelope over the table to her.

"Lucifer..." she warned, not going to pick it up or open it. It looked too formal, too _legal_ and part of her brain was screaming at her to be terrified of what might be in there; of its meaning to him and her. To them, even.

"No" he responded, shaking his head. "Just in case, Chloe. Its not a Will or anything ridiculous like that but I didn't order my affairs last time" Lucifer continued, almost knowing what she was going to say next. "This was all done before I knew I was going to see Dad; when I came back and when I finally realised I wanted to commit myself to you properly". She was about to speak when he interrupted her. "It's not everything. Just a few things that, well, other people could use. Property, trusts for you, our Beatrice, Charlie. It's things I would have given them and you anyway in time, but my trip has rather precipitated you knowing about them".

"Luce" she whined, moving the envelope back towards him. "I can't...It's your money. Your things. I don't want...I don't want to take off you". Her face was crushed with worry, unable to keep eye contact with him as she felt so awful that he would even consider giving her, well _anything_.

"You can and I insist you do" he responded, leaning across the table and taking up her hands. "Don't open it until after I've gone to see Dad". He squeezed her fingers, trying to impress on her how little choice she had. The legal papers were all signed. He had hoped to do this later on this weekend but equally that envelope would be lingering at the back of his mind all the time if he didn't do it now. At least with it now out in the open, as it were, he could breathe slightly easier and if they need to talk then they could talk.

"Okay" she replied, giving up. She didn't want to start an argument when they had only just got here. Chloe got up again and leant down, kissing him. "Thank you". She would put the envelope in the bottom of her bag and try to forget about it for now. Nothing was going to ruin her memories of this; whatever was lurking there for her and Lucifer watched as she picked up both of their remaining bags and started up the stairs again. It had gone better than he expected but sometimes a quiet, accepting of news Chloe Decker was worse than the tornado she could turn herself into when she was mad.

He quickly ate the rest of the crepes - both hers and his - as he listened as she wandered around upstairs, hearing the creak of the floor as she moved, drawers opening and closing. Putting the plates in the dishwasher for later, he found a radio station letting the music filter up to her above and it sounded at one point like she was dancing. It made him smile and he was just about to join her when all of a sudden, her cell, that was on the dining table buzzed into life. It was a message. From Dan.

"Detective, you have a message from the other Detective" he shouted, picking the cell up and walking towards the bottom rung of the ladder. One or two steps up he stopped as she appeared at the top, a couple of t shirts of his in her hand.

"What does it say?" she asked.

"Your message Detective" he replied, walking up a few more steps and holding out the cell. "I might be a lot of things but I don't go poking around in other peoples phones".

Chloe put the t-shirts on the bed and sat on the top rung, Lucifer creeping closer to her as she was handed the cell, and so he was standing between her knees. "It's just Trix" she replied scrolling through the message. "She scraped her knee running down the path to the car and they're going to the zoo today".

"Is she alright?" Lucifer asked. The look on his face was rather urgent and she saw his concern.

"She's fine. Kids fall over all the time, Luce. I've lost count of the amount of scrapes and scratches she'd had over the years. She's had bangs on the head, tripped over and knocked a tooth out on the coffee table when she was three...a scraped knee is nothing to worry about. Dan says she is okay". He nodded but she saw the unremitting look he had on his face. "Luce, I know all this domesticity is alien to you, but a bit of a bump because she probably fell over her own feet is _nothing_ to worry about. I trust Dan to tell me if it was something more serious, but if it makes you feel better, maybe you speak to her tonight? Okay?"

He considered her words and ducked his head, nodding. "Can I ask you something?" Chloe said all of a sudden and he looked back at her, expecting her to continue. "Why do you call her 'our' Beatrice, like she's yours and mine?"

Lucifer breathed in and out, sliding his palms up and down the sides of her thighs. In truth he had no real idea why he did it. It just made him feel better; more connected. "Because... because I am the Devil, Detective. No matter how much I might have put the practice what would have normally fertilised half of Los Angeles, I can't have...I cannot create life. I can destroy it, but I cannot create it. I'm not your normal man in case you've missed that part Detective"

Chloe giggled. "I know."

"But it's fine" Lucifer continued. "I can't protect Beatrice all the time but she is an extension of you. Therefore she is mine".

"And you will continue to look after long after Dan and me are gone", she continued, leaning forward and placing her palms on his cheeks.

"I will. Up there or down there, wherever I will always make sure she is safe". Lucifer and she knew she could take him at his word.

Chloe pressed her lips together. The thought of leaving Trix, dying one day and him keeping tabs on her child or even her grandchildren if her baby chose to have them, overwhelmed her and she stared at the ceiling as she started crying. "No, no, no, no, no" she immediately started as he took another step up, ready to hold her. She was not turning his affection away but telling herself off. "I told myself no crying this weekend, so no crying". She cleared her throat and let him brush the tears away. "Lucifer?" she asked, as the radio continued to filter around them. "Can we dance?"

"Metaphorical dancing or music dancing?" he asked. Now this time it was full of innuendo and a raised eyebrow to assist.

"I like this song" she said, tuning into what was being played on the radio. "I know it's silly but..."

Lucifer backed his way down the ladder and Chloe turned and followed, wrapping her arms around his neck. It was cheesy she knew but as he swung her around, this was, for however long this song lasted, a little slice of her own personal heaven on earth. Safe, comforted and laughing her heart out with the man she loved as she was spun around off the floor. Another memory in the bank for her, even though Lucifer had hesitated. She had to remember who he was; how vulnerable he actually was to her and just how different their lives had been.

Three songs later and when the music changed to some 'terrible composition' has Lucifer had put it, they slid onto the settee and for a little while they were just quiet, watching the flames of the fire as it crackled away. The unpacking was forgotten for now.

Chloe was resting her feet on his lap, his hand wrapped around her ankles, but their peace this time was interrupted by Lucifer's cell, buzzing away in his pocket. He pulled it out to be greeted by photograph of the offspring's bloodied and scraped knee and a 'thumbs up' emoji. "She's your child now" he said bluntly holding up the picture to her. "If I could breed I would never produce spawn that photographed her injuries and texted them. No class whatsoever".

Chloe laughed and took his cell and sent an 'are you okay, babe?' text, signing it off as 'Mom' just in case Trixie thought it was Lucifer. A reply was almost immediate and Chloe frowned. "Did you teach her to say it 'stung like a bitch'?!" It was the loophole swearwords all over again and she passed him the message to see. Indeed, the offspring had written it and he was quite pleased it was all spelt correctly too.

"Might have", Lucifer replied, quickly sending her a return 'thumbs up' emoji followed with a devil. He just about to send the message when Chloe withdrew her legs and kicked him hard in the thigh.

"Ow Detective!" he exclaimed. It did actually hurt. "Your offspring will hear worse as she gets older. She will say worse too." He pressed 'send'.

Chloe sighed, getting up so she could cuddle up closer to him rather than use him as a foot rest. Her head was on his chest. "I know she's nearly a teenager not a toddler, but ...it just makes me realise how things change". His arm went down her back, resting on her hip, sliding under the elastic of the track pants she was wearing, the scar on her skin underneath his fingertips.

"Is that alright now?"he asked, tapping on her skin. She had not complained to any pain for a long time.

"Yeah" she replied, "it's been perfect since Raphie...well you know".

Lucifer smiled. "He will look after you both you know. You have access to weapons. He can be your hostage. Exchange me for Dad's precious Right Hand Angel if things get a little sticky..."

"Luce..." she warned. "Don't joke about things like that".

"I know, I know" he responded. "Just he will take care of you both".

Chloe nodded and rested her palm on his abdomen. They were both watching the flames in the fire now and it was almost hypnotic, and Chloe felt herself drifting again. Her body was exhausted and it would take her under whether her mind liked it or not, but if she fell asleep here she knew her back would regret it. She shifted out of his embrace and stood up, holding out a hand giving him little choice of going with her back to her cocoon of blankets and fur. He made a little surprised noise as he was hiked out of his seat and she started to climb the ladder, him following shortly after.

"Stop staring at my ass" she mumbled.

"I have no choice but to stare at your arse, Detective. As much as it is delightful, peachy if I must say, it is also in my face..." he replied dryly.

She made it to the top of the ladder trying to keep a straight face. The whole place was quite warm now the fire had been going for a while so instead of falling back into bed, no actually crawling as that futon was a long way down, Chloe pulled off her trackpants and jumper, leaving a vest top for extra warmth and pants. The fur was so, so comforting against her skin and not paying attention to Lucifer or what he was doing she burrowed her way back in. Seeing daylight again after pulling the sheets from her face, she found him.

"Aaaand, yes just as I thought..." she announced. He was standing the window stark bollock naked, arms folded and with a trail of clothes behind him.

"Do you know Detective, there is a family of deer out the back?" he asked, not looking back her.

"And I am sure they really love seeing the Devil's jewels this time in the morning..." Chloe patted the bed. "Get in Lucifer".

He smiled and walked back to her, crawling in and settling, pulling her back to his front and close to him. "Do you think we can get away with this all weekend? Just staying in bed?" she asked, eyes closing and sinking into the warmth.

"If we agree between ourselves not to disagree or tell a soul, then yes" Lucifer replied. "Care to make a deal with the Devil?" Chloe flung a hand at him and he took it to shake on their agreement before behind her she felt Lucifer pull her even closer taking her cocoon with him and, safe and warm, she fell asleep again. Once he was sure she was asleep and her breathing was even, it was only then that Lucifer closed his eyes.

However long later, Lucifer was fairly sure he was wasn't quite dreaming. He was half asleep, splayed out on his back, no detective in his arms, but for some reason it did not alarm him that she was no longer there. He could feel his own limbs, he wasn't in Hell and he felt rather content if you were to ask. Lucifer was comfortable, warm and if you promised not to laugh, the Devil was _cosy_. Carefully just in that in-between state between sleep and wakefulness, his once cold heart was full. Even with all of those bodies that once used to grace his bed, he had never felt this accepted. All these years, chasing other people's tails and he had finally, finally come to recognised it was only one he wanted.

He shifted his knee; the fur blankets smooth against his skin. There was a reason he spent so much money on the comforts of life and waking up like this was one of them. Stretching his arms out though, he was definitely alone as he started to surface even more. Seems the Detective was no longer in bed with him but he couldn't hear her moving about either. The radio was still playing downstairs, shifting to what sounded like a news programme but everywhere else was quiet.

Lucifer sat up on his elbows only to see her, stretched out on the floor in the bedroom on her stomach, looking through the vast floor to ceiling windows at the snow that was starting to fall in fluffy flakes. She was wearing a pale pink jersey dressing gown and a pair of red and white striped fluffy slipper socks with some bobble contraption dangling from them. "I must say Detective" Lucifer started, his voice hoarse with sleep, "you know how to turn a devil on".

She looked at him looking at her feet. "They were a present from Trix last Christmas, they keep me warm and if you don't like them you don't _have_ to look". It perhaps came out a little harsher than she intended, but this was her and her daughter. She went back to watching the snow fall, her nose almost pressed to the glass, and the family of deer that were still wandering about outside.

"Are you quite alright Detective?" Lucifer asked eventually. He had no idea how long she had been out of bed but her eyes were no more red –rimmed than normal. He wondered whether he had managed to upset her with the comment about the socks, still not quite knowing where the line had been drawn.

"Yes of course" she replied before out of the corner of her eye she watched him crawl over to her; thinking he was about to lie down and join her, except he didn't. The next thing she felt were feather light kisses raining down on the back of her knee. Chloe flinched, ticklish and barely missed kicking him in the head with a slipper sock. "Lucifer, stop it".

"Hmmm?" he replied, her feeling one of the socks being slowly pulled off her foot.

"We are being watched" Chloe offered, as he frowned. Who on earth would be up here?

"What?" Lucifer responded, flinging the infernal striped thing down the ladder so it landed downstairs.

"Watched..." she said, pointing a finger towards the window at the family of deer that were outside, wandering through the snow.

Lucifer crawled closer to the window, looked down and smiled. "I very much doubt they can see you. It's only a few deer, dear".

"Ha ha" Chloe responded sarcastically before she moved to lie on her back, propping herself up on her elbows as he went back and attacked the other sock. "Close the blinds". He looked at her genuinely curious, the other sock half off her foot. "I know your...well you don't have any inhibitions, but I do. I don't do voyeurism" Chloe responded.

"It's a _deer_, dear", Lucifer replied. The other sock was launched and it went the same way as its mate. "I doubt it is bothered by a touch of naked flesh".

"That deer, _dear_ is not seeing my boobs". Chloe was really quite serious about it and she moved her legs away from where he had been about to wander his fingertips over her calf. She heard a half-irritated sigh but by now she had realised that it was not from anger, but the plain fact he did not really understand _why _she might be bothered. That might happen in time though, once he understood, so for now she left it.

Taking in her demeanour and realising he must act, Lucifer crawled along the floor and opened the bottom drawer of the cabinet by the bed. He pulled out a small white portable device and pressed the button on it. Round them the blinds whirred and slowly slid down the windows, blocking out all kinds of wandering eyes. "Happy now, my _dear?" _he asked still playful but dropping the device on the floor. "It seems the _dear_ deer can no longer_ leer_..."

Chloe smiled and sat up. "Thank you Lucifer". Her voice was serious, no longer with that element of a tease.

"That's..." he started, hesitating. "That's alright Detective. That was alright wasn't it?"

Chloe tipped her head to one side. For such an old being, he was so _young_. "I'm going to sound like I'm lecturing a kid" she muttered to herself before she raised her head. "There was something that made me uncomfortable and you put aside how you felt and, well I don't feel uncomfortable any more".

"Oh" he responded, rubbing a thumb on her knee. "That is good".

"Luce... " Chloe started, shifting a little bit closer to him. "I know you didn't do relationships before me, but it is okay to make mistakes. I will never hate you. I've never hated you".

"You didn't make much of me when we met" he offered with a smile. What a cocky git he was then; still was now, but now he _thought_ first.

"I never hated you" she repeated, pushing him by the shoulder as he shuffled back onto the bed. "You annoyed me; you made me angry and at times I wondered what planet you were from, or if something had happened to you as a child to make..." Chloe swallowed, sitting on his legs as he settled on the bed. "I thought you may have been abused. Whether all your acting out was because you... because of that and your Dad did abuse you in a way, but I think, now I get to know you, I can see beyond that". She breathed in. "I can see how lost you were".

"Are" he corrected her as she took hold of his chin and raised it to force him to look at her. "But you are my path home, Chloe", Lucifer continued, gently touching her temple. _She was his light, his redemption and please Father let it be so this time. Give me this chance!_

"And it took me far too long to come back to you Lucifer and I am sorry about that". It was not a new confession by any means but she needed his absolution.

"But you did" he responded. "And that is all that matters". Chloe nodded carefully. "You_ can_ ask me anything about Hell if you want, my fall, you deserve to know. You should know". Chloe looked down and she pressed her lips together. "Detective? You don't have to...I just thought your might _like_ to. You are curious by nature and I can't imagine you haven't thought of one thing you might like to ask the Devil?"

He smiled at her and she breathed in through her nose. "I never asked you so many things" she started. There was one question though that troubled her more than anything in the world and it made her heart hurt. He asked, so she would tell. "When your skin changes, is it painful?"

Lucifer laughed to himself as she shifted about on his lap, getting more comfortable. He didn't expect that question but should have known that this angel on earth would ask it. "It did", he offered, recalling those sensations from long gone. "I mean they _are_ burns, Detective, but they don't now. It just feels like, I'm warm, tingling. Much _like_ _now_". Chloe looked down realising he was sporting just a little bit of sexual interest in her.

"Oh for..." she responded, rolling her eyes and dropping his chin. "Go on then..." she continued, giving him a sharp shove of the shoulders so he had no choice to lie down . "I was trying to have a serious conversation with you Lucifer but your _anatomy_ has other ideas."

"Then don't sit on my lap, Detective", he replied, his voice deliberately dropping lower as she undid the belt of her dressing gown. "You know you can't do that around me in my naked and vulnerable state. The solution about what to do about it is rather clear though".

"If you're vulnerable then, should I ideally be doing this?" She dragged a nail from hip to hip, leaving a faint red line behind it. Chloe watched his skin turn pink and for a second, briefly she realised the power she had over the Devil himself. She could _hurt_ him; not that she would but Chloe Jane Decker could _hurt _one of the most powerful beings in the world yet here he was, lying underneath her, smiling and just about ready to indulge her every desire. Chloe looked up from the red mark and straight to his eyes.

How she managed to look innocent and seductive at the same time, Lucifer would have to ask. In a while though.


	45. Chapter 45

"Ah! Detective!" Lucifer announced, hearing her bare feet pad her way across the kitchen floor. "Your offspring telephoned about an hour ago. She is well and she tells me her knee has gravel in it but Daniel got it out" he reported as Chloe smiled and rested her cheek between his shoulder blades, landing her palms on his bare stomach. Something inside the Devil had been soothed by the sound of the urchin's happy voice, bubbling along about elephants and watching the lions being fed, even if it was interspersed with a rather graphic description of her bloodied limb. That said, how odd it was that now he was standing there in a pair of dark grey track pants, chopping vegetables and the other half of him was finally by his side and talking about things so normal, so domestic.

"Is she still at the zoo?" Chloe asked, her lips briefly touching where once his scars from his wings lay. The kitchen clock read nearly 3 in the afternoon and she had been out for hours since he had wrung every last orgasm her body felt it could give out of her. She saw him nod.

"They were just having a late lunch. Well she was eating ice cream. I told her to have an apple instead", Lucifer replied. He had not realised until long after what he had said.

Chloe laughed as her arms went tighter around his waist, suddenly realising she now had Mr Sensible on her hands. He didn't mention anything about the pasta bubbling on the stove nor the fact he was preparing their dinner. "And Daniel said that your mother has been trying to ring you". Dan had blanched when he saw Penny calling as he and Trixie were in the car park at the zoo, but it was best it was over and done with quick sharp so he had answered and been a reluctant messenger to his ex-wife.

"Yeah" Chloe responded with little enthusiasm, shutting her eyes again for a second. "I know. I have eight missed calls, two messages and three texts". She had put her phone on silent long ago, knowing Lucifer never did.

"Saying?" Lucifer asked, looking back at her for a second before he reached for the fresh tomatoes on the top, wondering if he could get over to the sink to wash them over with her clasped onto his back.

"Call me", she replied heavily as he moved, Chloe not bothering to let go as he made his way awkwardly to the sink with his additional cargo. "Repeatedly telling me to call her". Nobody had died; this was just her Mom's way.

He never really been curious to delve into human relationships but to be frank, hers with her mother had made him wonder. It reminded him, and comforted him to some extent that it was not just him that had family 'issues'. Least the Detective would understand the fractured relationships that family can have. "And have you?" he asked, turning off the tap.

"No", Chloe responded petulantly, still hanging on as he walked back.

"Well shouldn't you?" he asked, feeling her press a kiss between his shoulder blades again and he could not help but smile at the simple affection that the buttoned up Detective Decker would now freely show to him.

"I should" she replied, flexing her neck and cuddling closer still. "But I have no desire to".

He laughed. "Well, I think you should", Lucifer responded, knowing full well that one of these days Mama Decker might be needed by her only daughter. Her only child and yes she might not have been the best of mothers from her stories but she was still her family.

"Okay, you have turned into Mr Sensible" Chloe sighed, sliding her hands from his abdomen and over his hips, giving them a quick squeeze on the way. She spun around to go back and fetch her cell, when for a second, her vision whited out and she made a grab for the nearest solid object. "Woah", Lucifer heard suddenly seeing Chloe grasp hold of the wall at the side of the fridge.

"Are you alright Detective?" he asked, concerned, immediately dropping the knife he had been holding down onto the worktop and stepping across. He placed his palms on her shoulders as she turned to face him and watched her straighten up.

"Yeah sorry" Chloe replied, blinking quickly and feeling briefly disorientated. "Just turned too quickly..." she muttered before she wiggled out of his grasp and shot off up the ladder to speak to her mother.

Lucifer turned back to the food, not showing her his concern for the minute but when for twenty minutes she had not appeared back down stairs, his worry for her got the better of him. He had tried not to listen to the conversation, not that there was much coming from Chloe's side, but for the last few minutes all had been silent.

Upstairs she had turned the wicker chair around and was watching the snow again, sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest and feet resting on the seat. She wasn't really comfortable but Chloe just wanted a touch of peace and quiet. All she wanted was a little bit of peace and quiet. Was that too much to ask for? The light flakes fell, twisting, turning towards the ground, settling silently on the already thickly covered ground and Chloe had lost track of time as she sat, seeking something that she knew was just too far out of reach for now. She heard the ladder creak as Lucifer came upstairs, even though she was so engrossed in the recesses of her own mind. He did not need to speak and she watched as Lucifer walked across, sitting on the floor below her between her and the window. "She was just her usual self. No different to the usual" she offered.

"That is not a good omen Detective", Lucifer replied. "What did she say?" He could see from her face that it had not been the happiest of conversations and her being quiet left him uneasy. It always had.

"She just wanted to know where I was because I hadn't called her back; objected that she had to get Dan to call me, so I told her where I was". Chloe hesitated but Lucifer knew what she was about to say. "I didn't tell her you were back before..." she explained as Lucifer made a sound that could have been 'ah'. "Anyway she launched into a tirade about men that can't be trusted and what was I doing running back to you after you left me".

"I rather think I ran to you, Detective", Lucifer replied, running the tip of his finger over her ankle. "In the grand scheme of things, it has been me that has been doing the running not you. You could have slammed the door in my face that night". She shook her head. How could she leave him like that? Hurt, injured and _needing_ her.

"She likes you Luce" Chloe started, "but she doesn't think you'll stick around with me. 'Why would he?' That's what she said". Chloe rubbed hand over her face. "But that's just my mom. I should be used to it by now". She was past crying over her mother's barbs. She had done enough of that when she quit acting for the Police Academy and he just let her speak. "That's why I was so close to my Dad because he was my Mom too. He was always there she was always off shooting something on the other side of the country or dragging me to pageants because she thought it was my way of getting an agent. I've got photographs of me when I was 4 with a full face of makeup and bigger hair than Dolly Parton". She might have laughed if the memories were not so painful.

Lucifer smiled sadly. No wonder she was so self conscious about her appearance if her own mother tarted her up like a paedo's dream. "Well I happen to think you are perfect, whatever she says". He could not think of anything else to say to try and reassure her. There was so much he still needed to learn about Detective Decker.

Chloe looked out of the huge window, over the top of his head, and her hands flew to her face. "I just want...I just want you close to me too Luce but you are gonna go...and I don't want to forget a single second with you".

"Trust me you can never forget me" he smiled in some desperate attempt to make her smile again, kneeling up and taking her hands.

"I'm being serious. I can't face this Luce" Her blue-green eyes were full of tears but she felt such a fool at crying again. It was all she ever did these days and any other man would have shipped out long ago. "I can't say goodbye to you a second time". He had joked about her keeping Raphie hostage until he came back but this was far too serious and her mother's comments had just about topped it all off. I mean, just how could this work? How could she have a relationship with an angel?

Lucifer ducked his head. "I do have something else for you" he started, getting up and behind her Chloe heard a zip go on his bag. "Maybe it might help you realise what you mean to me". He hadn't intended to do this now either. He was surprised she hadn't found it already when she unpacked his bag but there didn't seem to be a better moment than this.

"You can't keep giving me things" Chloe pleaded, eyes following him as he resumed his position kneeling in front of her. She had gone nowhere near the envelope that was now sitting at the bottom of her bag and still did not want to know what was in it. His hands were behind his back and Lucifer tried to keep as straight a face as possible.

"I can and I will give you all I can. Close your eyes". She scowled at him but did just as he asked; not hearing anything as he produced his hands from behind his back with what he intended for her. "Open them now".

Chloe's eyes fluttered open to reveal a ring box but he certainly wasn't wearing that expectant, nervous look on his face that Dan had when he proposed to her all those years ago in that restaurant full of people, for which, she might add, she nearly killed him for. In fact he looked just as Lucifer normally did - confident in himself. She looked down as the thin band of black diamonds, mounted onto platinum, glinted at her and her eyes flashed from the ring to his face and back. "Is this the same?" she spluttered.

"The same stone as your urchin's pendant, yes" he responded. "I had them made together so you would both have something". Chloe smiled, not sure what to say but he carried on, still kneeling in front of her. "It's a special thing to me this is. Those diamonds, I took from one of the more remote parts of Hell, down deep in a cave. I knew the diamonds were there, but it took me decades to find exactly what I was looking for and I finally found them before I returned here." Chloe reached out and her hand hovered over the ring, hesitant. "Take it" Lucifer insisted, holding the box a little closer. "It means what it wants to mean to you. You don't have to wear it on your left hand. Maybe put it on your chain with the bullet, but _please_, just take it. Take it as part of me".

"I know you don't believe in marriage, Luce" Chloe responded. She had doubts about it herself to be honest, so why was he presenting her with a ring?

"So... call it an eternity ring instead" he offered realising he was going to have to do the deed as it where. "Whatever happens between now and whenever, you and I...we can't break this bond we have, can we?" he asked, eyebrows raised and for the first time she saw a nervous look. "See me getting married before the sight of my own father? Knowing him and his bloody ego he would probably want to officiate!" Lucifer was not laughing and neither was she.

"No" Chloe responded. "I can't see that". He barely heard her response it was buried that far under tears that were flowing now like a river down her face.

"So wear it and tell whoever asks it is just that. A ring for eternity", Lucifer offered. It seems most fitting that it should be termed that.

"It is eternity isn't it? For you". She had still not touched the box and sighed loudly. "This is so complicated, Luce. My engagement ring with Dan I kept for Trix when she turned eighteen. I threw my wedding ring off the end of Santa Monica pier the day after the divorce came through..." Chloe laughed and shook her head. She remembered it distinctly; receiving the decree through the post, getting the two rings out of her hiding place, driving to the beach as Trix was at her friends and as the fairground sang behind her, launching the gold band into the waves. She watched it sink into the blue. Much like her heart.

"Detective" he started. "I am simply making a promise to you and your spawn will have part of my life with you at all times and that I will come back and we might have a lovely life together". He paused, squeezing her hand. "If that is what you want".

It was what she wanted but her mouth spoke too quickly. "It'll be like that until I get decrepit or you get bored of me and you are boning 21 year olds because I can't..." It slipped out before her brain could sanitise and Chloe regretted her statement the moment she said it. Her hand flew to her mouth, shaking her head in silent apology, hoping her eyes told him what she wanted to say.

"Do you doubt me that much?" Lucifer asked quietly. The Devil of two years ago might have reacted in such a different way but, even though her response had stung him, he knew full well she did not mean it. He could see her point to be truthful. He had hardly been chaste.

"Because that's what it will end up as won't it?" Chloe replied sadly. "You've lived such a life with colour, luxury, men and women on tap, that...how can you, the Devil himself, restrict yourself to just me?" she asked.

Lucifer sat back down. "These last few earth years, yes, Chloe I had all that, but before that? Hell...I can't put words to describe it but it is the opposite to everything you could think of that brings you light and joy. That's why Maze and I took 'vacations' all the time; to get away from it and just..." he sighed shaking his head. "Earth held so many delights and yes, okay, I certainly didn't behave as all good angels should". The amount of cocaine alone he and Maze had hoovered up over the last few years would have killed a human ten times over and more.

"I'm plain, insignificant but you love me..." She frowned, still confused at the enormity of it all. An angel, an actual ethereal being, loved her.

"I do. You told me long ago that I made you a better Detective, Detective but you make me a better Devil, no, you make me the angel I used to be". He took up her left hand rubbing his thumb over where a wedding band might lay. "I want this to be real. I have wanted this to be real for a long time but I needed to be different. You were made for me. Just for me when I was a better person". Chloe nodded carefully. "Don't think you will ever catch me doing laundry or keeping to the speed limit, but I don't mind cooking for you or an afternoon with your injured spawn".

Chloe sniffled, feeling the ring slide onto her finger and letting him to do it to boot. "And for the record yes, you are enough for me. Ever since that first night with you, I just don't... I don't need or want any of those women that used to hang around Lux. That desire in me, its gone". He spun the ring around on her finger, the diamonds that ran all the way around the band glinting in the lights. "Don't get me wrong Detective, I still like fulfilling people's wishes and wants, I still get pleasure from it, but just not _that type_ of pleasure".

"Don't change too much", she smiled, one eyebrow raised. "I like a little devil in my life".

"Less of the little" he scolded, watching her roll the ring around her own finger now, settling it. "Now, before you say another word, I have a couple of bottles of vintage Cristal here that have been sitting around for too long waiting for someone special to drink them".

"It's the middle of the afternoon..." Chloe protested as he stood up and she finally moved from her foetal position on the chair.

"Detective..." he smiled, leaning down to kiss her upturned cheek.

"Okay I know" Chloe responded, trying to smile as she stood up to follow him. "Chill out. I get it. Live a little".

Somehow, once she had decided to get dressed, Chloe found herself standing by the hot tub, studiously ignoring it as it taunted her. Thankfully it had a rather large padlock on the doors and since she had mentioned it, he hadn't said another word about it. Buried back under the hood of her coat she had a fourth, maybe a fifth, glass of his incredibly expensive champagne in her hand and she was watching Lucifer trudge through the snow. She couldn't remember what he had wandered over to the trees for, but his hair and shoulders were covered with a light dusting of snow and it amused her greatly. He looked disgruntled at being cold.

"You're a snow angel" she giggled when he was in hearing distance. "Can I see your wings?"

"You have had too much champagne" he stated, swallowing a mouthful of her glass that she had handed to him seconds before. "I am not getting my wings out for your amusement, Detective. The devil is not a plaything". He pressed a brief kiss to her lips.

"Please" she mewled, stepping forward and pressing her palm to his chest. "I want to see them again..."

"Detective..."

"Please" she continued, the glass passed back to her and ignoring his good hearted protest. "I know you are not a toy Luce and your wings are special, but if I promise a back massage will you do it? Just for me?"

Lucifer breathed, half a mind just taking that glass off her, flinging it into the snow and pinning her against the wall of the outhouse to distract her. He paused first. She might object to that though even in her slightly merry state so he carefully looked from left to right, making sure nobody was around but also for anything that might get a whack. What harm was there in it in her seeing his wings again? Really? He flexed his back and 'whoomph'. "Satisfied now?" he replied, wings glowing white, almost shimmering and shivering against the snowy backdrop.

"Yes thank you" she chirruped, turned tail and went back into the warmth of the lodge.

With one of her patented whiplash eye rolls coming from the Devil himself, he shifted his shoulders and wandered back inside too, hearing her cell vibrating on the dining table. "Not again" Lucifer cursed. "Can we not just bury that thing out here and leave it?" he asked, raising his voice so she would hear.

He heard Chloe laugh before she addressed the caller, putting her glass on the dining table. "Hey baby!"

"Ah, your offspring..." Lucifer muttered to himself, closing the back door.

"Oh! Hi Dan! Sorry I thought you were Trix" Chloe suddenly said, mortified that she had addressed her ex-husband like that. She heard Dan give a short laugh. _"Yeah, sorry Chlo. My battery died. Did you speak your Mom? She's been on at me again"_

Chloe sighed. "I did. What did she want now?" The mention of her mother cut through the haze of champagne for a second and her heart sunk. She could hear the chatter of a shopping centre in the background.

_"__Something about wanting to come down before Christmas or us three go up there"_ he replied. _"I think she thinks I have some kind of authority over you to tell you what to do!"_

"Yeah!" Chloe replied, feeling Lucifer's arms go around her waist, holding onto her tight. "You never had that Dan!" she replied as he lifted the glass from the table and sunk the remainder of the champagne within it.

Dan laughed. _"I know I didn't and besides,_ _we are hardly a happy little family any more going on vacation together". _It was not meant with any malice. It was just the truth and Chloe was not by any means hurt by what he said. She squeaked when she felt Lucifer's lips pull on her ear lobe and she whispered a giggly 'stop it' to him, pushing her hips back in a vain attempt to get him to release her a little. She was about to answer her ex-husband when he interrupted her. _"__Have you been drinking?"_ Dan's question caused her to focus. She had forgotten he had seen her drunk many a time. He heard it in her voice.

"I am drinking now" she announced proudly. "Vintage Champagne and it's very nice". She bit her lip as Lucifer slipped his fingers underneath the hem of her coat and sweat shirt, rubbing the skin underneath and utterly determined to distract her as much as he could.

_"__Okay. Be careful Chlo but yeah, enjoy yourself",_ Dan responded as he watched for their daughter in the cafe queue, she who was insistent she could get and pay for her own food, thank you very much.

"Thanks Dan" Chloe smiled. "I love you... I mean tell Trix I love her". All she could hear was him laughing heartily. _"I'll tell her. She'll call you before bedtime". _Chloe was bright red the second she said it. Great. Tell your ex-husband in front of your current lover that you love him, even if it was accidental. "Okay. Thanks Dan". She spun in Lucifer's arms the second she said 'goodbye' and finished the call. "I'm sorry".

Lucifer smiled, slightly buzzed himself from the champagne he had been drinking with her in such close proximity. "I don't know whether to be annoyed or amused. It's rather a quandary I find myself in to be perfectly truthful". He was winding her up but one thing the devil was good at was poker face. He looked down to find her looking up at him, chin on his chest and employing what he might call 'doe eyes' at him. She had however, royally sobered up now after such a catalogue of dumbass comments in one conversation. Calling Dan 'baby'; telling him she loved him... "But you are forgiven and besides" he added, running his fingertips down her temple, "you made a deal and you have to maintain your side of the bargain". The back massage, of course. She was pleased he was not bothered.

"I know", she replied, feeling relieved that he didn't take on as she took his hand and they wandered up the ladder to a more comfortable spot. That deal was easy. How she wished she could make a deal with someone that he could stay.

The rest of their weekend, Chloe had tried to forget. Saturday evening she had christened that bath, lazing in steaming hot water as he sat on the floor, arm propped up on the ceramic rim as they drank red wine. They just talked and talked about anything and everything but her invitation to join her had to be turned down. _"Detective, look at that bath and look at me. Do you think these frankly spectacular limbs would even fit into it?"_ It had left her slightly confused as to why it was there as yes, he was clearly too tall for it, unless it was for his endless supply of...shut up Decker!

They had watched television, listened to the radio, made love by the fire like the hero and heroine in some trite romance novel and retired to bed. Sunday had been much the same until the moment came that they had to leave. It ran around too quickly and, having arrived back that late afternoon, they had gone straight to Lux. This time, on the flight back she was determined to keep her eyes open and just look at the world below her and she did, breathing in the air and the peace and the beauty of it all. She would be forever grateful for that.

As soon as they landed on the balcony they found Maze, pacing, stomping, arms folded and _furious_. Carefully Lucifer placed Chloe down onto her feet. "I'll deal with it" he whispered quietly, gently pushing Chloe by the hips into the sitting room.

"Maze isn't an 'it', Luce" she whispered back as the demon spun around to face them.

"Thank you Decker" Maze replied as Chloe slunk off to speak to Trix, Linda, anyone she could find whilst Lucifer dealt with whatever he needed to deal with.

"What is it?" Lucifer asked.

"Your brothers are downstairs. I put them in the bar. They waltzed in here hours ago and wouldn't leave" Maze offered and Lucifer tutted in response. Seems it was now or never. "And your therapist is down there with them!" she exclaimed. Linda had come to Lux to bring Charlie to see Maze, and hopefully see Lucifer too before he went.

"What?!" he asked.

"She's trying to get them tell her about Amenediel and what's happened to him. I told her she was wasting her breath" Maze replied. She had told her several times to be truthful as Gabriel in particular threw her contemptuous looks. He clearly had no time for this and to be frank, neither had the demon. It was enough Lucifer was going and leaving her behind again. Mind you, Heaven and Mazikeen Smith were guaranteed to end up on a collision course.

"For...bloody Hell!" Lucifer began, hands on his hips and joining Maze in her trek around the penthouse, hoping Chloe was out of earshot. "Get them up here!" he exclaimed. It _was_ now or never after all.

Chloe had been here before, but this time she was trying to be strong. Well strong_er_, than last time. One thing that Chloe could not escape though was the constant feeling as though her head was full of fluff, disconnected and separated. It was getting worse by the day and this morning, waking up in the lodge, wrapped up in his arms she had realised the day had come and the twisting, tight knot in her throat had threatened to spill over.

Once retrieved from the bar by an angry demon the three Angels, Lucifer, Gabriel and Raphael stood side by side on the balcony. They looked magnificent standing strong, _together _and Chloe smiled painfully, stepping up to them. "I didn't think I would be here again". Her voice was quiet and resigned as Lucifer welcomed her into his arms, holding tight and imprinting in his mind the curve of her hip, the feel of her breathing.

Raphael felt the sadness pervade from them and stepped across placing a gentle hand on his sibling's shoulder, watching Chloe who was buried face first in her love's waistcoat. "I promise brother. I will keep her and Miss Beatrice safe and sound. I will do all I can to ensure her health and wellbeing whilst you are gone". Lucifer nodded. "I will even assist the demon if she wishes". Raphael's eyes tracked to Maze who was smiling slyly at him from where she was leaning against the open balcony doors. Linda was running around inside after an overactive child.

"Samael, we must leave" Gabriel began. He was sick of these humans and their hold over his brother.

"I will follow you Gabe, bugger off while I speak to the Detective", Lucifer responded as he pressed his lips to Chloe's forehead, feeling her breathing picking up as each second passed. He could see Linda picking Charlie up in the sitting room and settling him on her hip.

"No, Samael" Gabriel replied sternly. "Father wishes me to deliver you to him and perhaps brother remember how it came to pass with Amenediel. Do you really want this to happen that way in front of the humans?"

Before Lucifer could reply he felt Chloe release him a little and he saw her eyes move towards his brother. "Go and throw yourself off the balcony or something, _Gabe_", she spat at him before she reached up, pulling Lucifer towards her and indulging in a kiss that was not decent for company, particularly not the kind of company they had now. The devil knew what she was doing and was smiling inside, hearing Maze cackling in the background.

"Go get it Decker!" the demon shouted, before she was told off with a 'shush' from Linda, who, just behind her, had not yet seen what was going on. The doctor looked up and saw Chloe and Lucifer attached to each other, Gabriel looking appalled and Raphael embarrassed.

"I retract that" Linda began, coming to stand beside the demon. "Maze, I apologise that was inappropriate of me to admonish you. Go get it Chloe!"

"S'cool. Apology accepted" Maze replied, throwing an arm around the other woman. "Girls been stuck out in the mountains with him all weekend surprised she's still able to think straight! Or walk straight..." she added quickly with another provoking laugh and deliberately, in an over-exaggerated manner, licked her lips whilst staring at Gabriel in particular. The angel shifted on his feet. He was about to drag the human off when Linda snorted in response to the statement and was pulled along by Maze more onto the balcony; one either side of Chloe as she was released from his clutches. Chloe felt Maze's arms go around her from one side and Linda, who still had the toddler on her hip, from the other. She was shaking but no more than the therapist beside her.

"I am not saying goodbye" Lucifer began, gently brushing away a tear that was making its way down her cheekbone. "Not this time".

"Brother..."

"As Decker said _Gabe_", Maze interrupted, her face moulded into a hateful stare. "I'd suggest you follow her advice and go fu..."

"Mazikeen..." Lucifer warned, pulling the demon towards him in a hug. Maze froze until she realised he was passing her something and she felt a small object pushed into the back pocket of the trousers she was wearing. Maze nodded indicating to him that whatever it was, she knew it was there. He released her with a pained smile. "Behave and don't smash up all of my liquor or I'll make you pay for every last drop". She just nodded at him, wanting to just tell him not to go but realised she could not.

"Dr Martin", he started enveloping the therapist and Charlie in is arms too. "I will find out what I can about Amenediel. You have my promise and I will do my best".

"Thank you Lucifer" Linda replied before he turned to the woman in the middle again who had her eyes closed, feeling the breeze of a cooling evening caressing her skin. It was like before and it was only the other two holding her up, otherwise her knees would have given way. Too many thoughts, not enough memories and these last seconds were running out too fast. She had so much to say to him but it was all too late.

A moment later, Gabriel and Lucifer were gone.

"Chloe..." Linda started, half stunned at the sight of two angels taking flight, but so, so concerned for her friend too. For the moment she put aside the racing of her own heart and that feeling of dread at Lucifer going. She loved him, but not like the woman to her side. "Remember what we talked about..."

"No. I can't...I can't do this again..." Chloe stammered, huge fat tears rolling down her cheeks as she grabbed onto her friends arms that were around her waist. "I can't do this again, Linda, not again! Bring him back, get him back!" Her eyes settled on Raphie, who had his head bowed.

"Chloe breathe _please_", Linda pressed, tightening her grip on the Detective, but Chloe was panicking, ears closed to any kind of reason. "Come on Chloe, just follow me and Maze". Linda glanced at the demon and with Maze catching on and catching up, the two tried to calm the other woman's breathing with enhancing their own before she hyperventilated. Realising they were failing as Chloe simply was not listening, Raphael knelt down in front of all three and took up both of Chloe's hands, kneeling almost in reverence to the Miracle Child and pressing his lips to her knuckles. Chloe did not see the significance of it or the glance that passed between the demon and the therapist, but immediately Chloe felt that warmth infuse her as it passed up her fingers, arms and into her shoulders. The knot in her chest dissipated almost immediately and the relief of the tension on her body was almost overwhelming.

"Raphie?" she asked, snuffling away tears, but feeling calm again. "Thank you". She had frightened herself this time.

He stood up. "Miss Decker, perhaps we should return you home. It will do you no good to be standing here all night".

"For once angel-boy" Maze replied. "I agree with you". She looked at Chloe, whose eyes were raised to the sky again. The demon had too many memories of that first night he went, picking the crying, virtually unconscious Detective up from the lounger and frantically calling Daniel for help. She recalled wrapping her in every blanket she could find trying to warm her up on his instructions down the phone, filling her with hot tea and refusing to leave her shaking form even when her ex-husband was there. It was then the rage inside the demon had started and it had not lessened since.

"Come on Decker" Maze repeated, determined she would stay with her now too. "Angel-boy here is right. Let's get you home".


	46. Chapter 46

Dan was running, crashing through the early morning shoppers, limbs flailing as he chased their suspect down. The arrest had gone horribly wrong, not expecting the Alsatian in the run-down apartment above the bakery and the distraction allowed their suspect to escape the melee of the dog trying, but thankfully failing, to take a chunk out the leg of the nearest available police officer.

Two uniform officers were maybe ten seconds ahead of him and Chloe just on his shoulder as they raced through the streets. A screech of wheels caught his attention and seeing the blue lights of the police vehicle cut into the path of their suspect, he slowed his pace, Chloe very nearly smacking into his back until she saw the lights too.

He was breathing heavily. Chloe beside him hadn't run like that in a long time, and with her hands on her knees she could barely speak. "You okay, Chlo?" Dan asked eventually, laughing good heartedly at the state of the pair of them.

She felt nauseous in that way of too much exercise. If she had eaten that morning it might have come back up. "Yeah" she replied, straightening up, her mouth dry and her heart battering her ribs. "I am so unfit..." she concluded with a strained laugh.

"Me and all" Dan responded taking her elbow. "Come on, the unis can take him back and we can go find an oxygen tank..."

Chloe laughed genuinely for the first time in what felt to be a long time, even though she was utterly exhausted. They had been waiting on this arrest for far too long too; an almost cold case that between Dan, Ella and a little bit of fortuitous timing they had finally cracked. Chloe pushed him towards the now apprehended felon so he could take his well-earned arrest.

It had been two weeks and two days since Lucifer left and to avoid having to think, Chloe had worked every hour she could think of, kicked a soccer ball around on the beach with Trix until it was dark and actually thanked his Dad that Raphie stayed behind. Two Tribe Nights had gone down and to her surprise she had come out of them relatively unscathed. Maybe it was because Raphie came with her and tolerated the noise, music, lights and a drunk Detective who had spent most of the evenings hugging the unthreatening angel. It had been such a comfort to have him there, to just have his presence, until last night when he said he had to return.

_"__My utmost apologies, Miss Decker" _he had said as they sat watching one of Trixie's films. Raphie had become quite accustomed to the Detective and her child even in just a few days. He was starting to see why Lucifer liked humans. Well, just a little bit._ "I need to see my Father for a short while and, well do you wish me to take a message to Samael?"_

_"__Just tell him we love him and we really miss him", _Chloe had replied. It had soothed her that she could let him know and she hoped Raphie might have a message in return. The angel had just smiled and nodded and next morning, this morning, he was gone.

"So have you decided what you are going to do for Christmas Day, Chlo?" Dan asked as they walked back to the suspect's apartment, breaking her out of her thoughts. Dan had been so, so good to her too recently, and Maze. She hadn't even had any preteen attitude from Trixie either but to be frank she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. It had to happen soon; it was almost inevitable.

"Yeah", she replied. "Me and Mom, Maze, Linda and the kids. You are still okay to have Trix Christmas Eve or do you want to, well, do you want to spend it together? You, me and Trix?" Chloe asked tentatively, clasping her hands in front of her as they walked. Dan would admit he was slightly stunned at her request. "With you working on Christmas Day..."

He laughed. "Drew the short straw on that one didn't I?" It was only fair. Chloe had the pleasure of the Christmas Day shift last year.

"But I thought it might be nice or maybe New Year?" she asked as they continued to walk along, not that they ever made a fuss about one day rolling into the next but nevertheless. She felt a touch uncomfortable, but they had had a decade together and most of it she didn't want to erase. There was no harm in building bridges was there?

Dan nodded carefully. "I'm erm...going up over to Detroit with Ella for New Year but yeah...Christmas Eve it is. Need a hand getting a tree?" he smiled.

"Please" Chloe replied, realising she had not actually had a proper chat to Ella, in fact had barely seen her, since Lucifer went. Surprisingly his visit to Ella's parents did not faze her one scrap. "Trix has been going on at me for days to go but works just been..." She ended with a shrug of her shoulders. She could hardly ask Raphie to help them go and pick up a Christmas tree, could she?! She might have dragged Lucifer reluctantly along but that wasn't an option was it.

A busy morning turned into a quiet early afternoon and Chloe had a chance to catch up on some paperwork; sitting at her desk, that mild throb behind her eyes threatening turning into a full blown headache. Yawning as she fished in her drawer, Chloe pulled out some painkillers to catch it before it started and swallowed them down with the remains of a warm glass of water on her desk.

She didn't notice Ella walking up armed with a post mortem that the Detective had been waiting for, but the forensic scientist's squeak when she saw the ring on Chloe's finger did cause her to raise her head. She had taken it off her necklace before she got into the shower this morning. The rational side of her argued it was safer with the bullet and it avoided all kinds of unnecessary questions too. Not thinking she got dressed and ready to go to work and the ring went onto her left hand instead. Dan had noticed but decided not to rock that particular boat, particularly as they were looking forward to a rather amicable Christmas it seemed. It was not worth the argument that it would inevitably end in if he asked.

It was almost the noise and Ella's wide eyes that caused Chloe to look down and register what she had seen. "Is that?!" she squealed, albeit as quietly as she could muster. "Is he back?!"

Chloe looked up and sighed. "No" she responded. She was so tired of people asking questions like she was his keeper and Ella's one was the straw that broke the camel's back. "He's not here".

"Soooooo" Ella continued, smiling in her usual good hearted way. "Did he propose before he went then?!"

"It's not an engagement ring", Chloe replied flatly, going back to her half done report on this morning's arrest.

"So what is it?" Ella asked, sitting on the corner of the desk but deliberately keeping her voice even lower. She knew how much Chloe hated the gossip mill that ran around the station, but there was something in her tone, in her face that this was far more than just being worried about precinct stories."It looks like one to me..." she offered quietly, tentatively pushing what was clearly sore subject. She just wanted them to be happy that was all.

Chloe looked down again. It did look right there – where he had left in the cabin. "It is from Lucifer but it's just a present".

"That you are wearing on your left hand", Ella observed.

Chloe sighed barely able to hide her irritation even though she did not mean it. She pulled the ring off her left and put in on her right. "There. It's a present". Immediately she saw Ella's face drop and reached out her hand, placing it gently on the other woman's knee. "Ella...I'm sorry. That was uncalled for". She felt awful now.

The other woman just shook her head. "It's okay, girl. Apology accepted" the forensic scientist replied. "Want to talk?" She could see Chloe's eyes start to water. They needed another tribe night as quick as humanly possible. "Come on" Ella started. "The lab is open for business".

Chloe walked ahead of her into the other room, brushing tears away from her face. "I'm sorry" she whispered again as she sat down, leaning on the table, head bowed. "I...I thought I was okay". She hadn't cried over him for three days; her longest record so far.

Ella put an arm around her shoulders. "It's fine, Chloe. Like I said before, his family are nuts. All this running around after them...Amenediel too. I can't imagine what it's like for Linda too with Charlie to care for as well". Chloe nodded. At least it was only her and Trix she needed to worry about, not a half angel-baby too.

"Well" Chloe replied, moving the ring around her finger. "Hopefully this time it will be it, one way or another".

"Do you think?" Ella offered, seeing Chloe shrug her shoulders. She didn't actually know. She could hope, but that was as far as she could go and to be honest, she was running out of words without telling Ella the whole truth, and well, it was not her place to. "Can I see it?" Ella asked gesturing towards the Detective's hand and Chloe took the ring off and passed it over, grateful for the slight change in subject.

That second, the door to the lab crashed open and Chloe felt her daughter's arms go around her waist. "Hey, baby. How was your morning?"

"Boring" Trixie replied, Chloe seeing Dan walking back to his own desk having picked their child up. "We had math and geography". Chloe smiled and nodded. Her offspring was on a half day for teacher training and so she would spend the afternoon in the precinct. Chloe was not sure how 'educational' that might be but needs must with no sitters around.

Ella was still admiring the black diamond ring under the lab lights, about to give it back until she looked at Trixie, unsure what the child knew. "It's okay" Trixie offered calmly. "It's Mom's eternity ring from Lucifer". She had told her daughter about it days ago, in her efforts to remain completely honest about Lucifer's whereabouts with her child. Trixie had promised to keep the h-e-a-v-e-n issue out of it and so far there was not a word slipped in error. "It's like my necklace!" the child smiled, pulling the chain out of her jumper to show Ella.

"Beatrice Rose!" Chloe exclaimed, horrified and just a touch annoyed. It was a rare event she used her daughter's full title. "What did I tell you about wearing that to school?!" She had no idea how much it might have cost him, but this was Lucifer getting jewellery specially made for both of them, so yeah, it wouldn't have been cheap.

Despite the frantic question, Ella leant down and rested the lightning bolt on the palm of her hand. "It's beautiful Trix but you really should listen to your Mom, lady. It looks very precious and you don't want to get it damaged do you?"

Trixie smiled. She was liking Ella more and more. Dad smiled more now. "I know but I like it and it makes me think of him". Chloe was silently pleased that Ella - or to be more precise, her ex-husband's girlfriend – had backed her up and she gave the other woman a smile in thanks.

"Trix" Chloe offered, "go in my purse and get some money out and get something full of sugar for us all from the machine". The child shot off with a smile, hiding the necklace back under her navy blue jumper.

"Relaxing the no sugar rule, girl?!" Ella teased as Chloe reluctantly nodded. "Guess you only live once!"

Away in some distant place, the noise around him was incredible. He had heard it the second he and Gabriel had landed at the gates, however many earth days ago it was. A frantic, low buzz of voices from every angle, but Lucifer was unable to pick out a clear word amongst it. In time they had dissipated but today they were back with a vengeance, clear now and whispering that _Samael was present, Samael had arrived, Samael was here, Samael was home._

Lucifer prowled around the quarters he had been given trying to block them out. He was free to move as he wished although so far he had not but the voices were there again, constant and...it was like when he Fell and he could not shake it from his back. It was a curious feeling yet it set off a paranoia about what his Father actually wanted in having him here.

Breathing carefully, Lucifer regarded his surroundings again. It was so familiar, yet so strange that he found himself here, that nagging on his shoulder still present though as he ran a finger along a shelf. The quarters were very much like something he might put together on earth and it unnerved him even more that there was whiskey in the cabinets, a comfortable couch and clothing similar to his suits. It was almost as though he had never shifted from Earth to Heaven and... He flopped down onto the leather couch, singing mindlessly to himself as he tried to cut out the whispers that seemed to wind themselves underneath the heavy door that guarded this place.

Lucifer longed for his piano; the cool of the keys and each note drifting around the space of his penthouse. The penthouse; the beach house, these places he belongs now. He longed for the feel of the Detective just sitting by his side, her head on his shoulder, just listening to him play in those rare, quiet moments they had. Lucifer coughed and shook his head, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes with such force it might have hurt someone else. He was changing, had changed. He just needed his bloody Father to be satisfied, see it and let him be.

One thing he did wish to do was to see Amenediel. Despite their argument, despite the threat he had been to Chloe and the urchin, his _child_ was important; did not deserve this. He had seen the hurt in the good Doctor's eyes as they stood on the balcony and he wanted to do the right thing by her at least. His dispute with Amenediel over Malcolm could wait for now. Something unbidden inside him knew that he had to do what he had to do when it came to that particular sibling. It started with forgiveness. The rest, well...

Speaking of himself, his Father had not deigned to call for him yet and Lucifer was half minded to just charge up there and have it out with him if this went on very much longer. In fact, why was he waiting? Just so he could show Daddy Dearest he had learned some patience on his time on earth? No, that devil deep inside was still there; the Samael that knew he was beautiful, knew he was powerful, knew he could strike down any person that crossed his path.

Interrupted from his thoughts, his head snapped up at a brisk knock on the door. "Enter!" he bellowed and rose from the couch he was now half lying on. Another being, another brother dressed head to foot in green walked through and stood before him.

"Orifiel..." Lucifer breathed, shoulders tensing at the sight of a brother he had not seen since the Fall. The angel of the wilderness had come to him it seemed. How appropriate for a lost son that that the _angel of the wilderness_ had sought him out.

"Brother" Orifiel began taking a step forward but Lucifer was still welded to the spot standing his ground. He had no idea who to trust, eyeing his sibling suspiciously and Orifiel hesitated at the sight before him. He had almost forgotten the presence his brother could have in a room. "I erm...I have a human here who wishes to speak with you", he offered, still somewhat befuddled by the request that he had been given barely minutes before.

"A human?" Lucifer asked, frowning. His stomach clenched, his immediate thought it was Chloe, but that would mean she was... no, no, not that, please not that. Eve? But really? Would his Father let her roam free or was this another bloody test of his patience and rumbling levels of anger?

"Hmmm", Orifiel replied, nodding his head and still perplexed. "He wishes to talk to you about his daughter and Gabriel has given his permission that he speaks with you".

Lucifer's heart hit his well polished shoes as his brother stood aside to let the man through, not quite sure what he ought to be feeling. He recognised John Decker from photographs that Trixie had insisted showing him quite a long while ago without her mother knowing. He had seen his photograph at the station too; on the board of all of the fallen officers and now the man was standing in front of him. "Thank you Orifiel. You can go away now. Close the door too" Lucifer ordered as his brother slipped gladly away and the other man stepped into the quarters.

"Mr Morningstar" Chloe's dad started, holding out a hand for the Devil to take. "You must call me John".

Lucifer nodded carefully and stretched out his own hand. Another test? Surely not. This was Chloe's _Dad_. Maybe it was test of a different kind. He could imagine the Detective's face, her mischievous smile at him meeting her Dad. "Lucifer...Morningstar. It's a pleasure to meet you, I must say". He gestured at the couch for the other man to sit down and after a hesitant start, the fact that, within twenty minutes the Devil and Chloe's Dad were now sitting opposite each other, whiskey in hand and _laughing_, would have freaked the Detective out no end. He would have to tell her when he got back.

"All I want", John started, taking another sip, "is my apple blossom to be happy and if it is with you it is with you".

Lucifer frowned at his words. "How can you..." he started, wondering how to phrase his question. "How can you say that? Surely you object that she was, well, created for me, _manufactured_ for me, the Devil?"

John hesitated. He had to find the right answer to this as it was something he had thought long and hard about. "I have to admit, son, it was something that I had to think carefully about, but one thing I have learned is that she was created for _you_, for _Samael_". Lucifer flinched at the use of his real name, but here, that is what he was known as. How much did his man actually know though? "She was made for me and Pen too and I had nineteen years with her and being here, well, it is this freedom – of your body and your mind" he explained. "I never understood people who were judgmental even when I was alive and here, well, you see how you lived your life, you reflect on it, you learn the impact of the decisions you made, see what is real, you know? I was always so proud of her".

"Even when she was dancing around with her boobs o...when she...?" _Bugger_. You actually mentioned Chloe's erm...assets in front of her own father. You bloody fool. Lucifer paused. How insightful of himself he was being. If he could feel embarrassment then would be mortified right now.

John let out a short laugh. "I was proud of whatever she did", he smiled. He had been shot handing over tickets to see his precious daughter on the big screen. "My girl is happy when she is with you. She trusts you and I don't ask for much more than that. Above it all Lucifer, I know you will protect her."

"She's seen _me_", Lucifer offered. She had seen the 'me' Lucifer had lost however millennia ago it was and the one he was slowing clawing himself back to be.

"Chloe was always special and Beatrice. My grandbaby..." He put his hand on his heart. "That's what we never understood. Penny and I...we both were tested and well, it was impossible we could ever have a child. We were told zero percent chance...zero".

"How long have you known?" Lucifer asked, taking a sip from his glass.

"A long time but it all made sense, reflecting. A child who was an impossibility and yet we were blessed with her. It made no sense. I'm not religious, neither was Pen, but everyone around us, when she was born". John hesitated. "She came early, almost six weeks...she was tiny and she didn't breathe..." He swallowed, pushing a palm over his face. _She was being taken from them after all._ "They had to resuscitate her and every single day I thanked the Heavens she made it. Every single person told us she was a gift from God and I just nodded at the comments, tolerated them but yes...she was a gift to both of us I feel" he added self consciously. "Samael, me and Pen". Lucifer nodded carefully and gestured with the bottle; both of their glasses the wrong side of almost empty.

Chloe's dad smiled. "Fill her up son. I'd suggest you and I are going to get on well..."

The only person who knew about the existence of the envelope that Lucifer had given her was sitting at her dining table. Linda. Chloe had confessed it to her just yesterday when Raphie had returned with a simple message from the heavens for them both. If she left that envelope unopened any more, Chloe felt she might burst with anticipation.

The envelope itself had gone on top of the highest kitchen cupboard the day after Lucifer left and Chloe, so far, had dare not open it. Part of her was curious yet part of her was terrified. It was now sitting in front of Linda who was toying with the seal; young Charlie sitting giggling in Trixie's old high chair. "Do you know" Linda started, watching Chloe as she pottered about the kitchen, "I am so glad Raphael was able to bring back a message". It had only been brief, certainly not what either Linda or Chloe might have wanted but it was at least a reassurance if nothing else.

Chloe smiled. "Me too" she replied, putting a bottle of wine and three glasses on the table. Maze would be here soon too; the women having fallen into visits to each others houses, and Lux, at least twice a week.

"So", Linda started, watching Chloe fill their glasses. "Are we going to do the deed then?!" She was actually itching to find out what was in it in a curious way. Chloe sat and took a large fortifying mouthful of wine pulling the seal on the envelope, bringing a pile of paperwork out with it.

"Oh, jeez" Chloe exclaimed putting her hand to her mouth. One the top of the pile was a letter from his lawyers setting out what was inside. She read down the list. "A Trust fund for Trix, he's left the lodge in Vail to me, shares in Lux for me and Maze". She flipped over the letter to the second page. "A trust for Charlie. Linda - he's left millions..." She scrabbled through the papers for the Deed for Charlie, pushing it over the table to the therapist before she slumped back in her chair; just needing him not money or shares. Chloe pressed a hand to her mouth, half of her panicking but the other half resisting taking a cent of it. "It's all been signed over to us" Chloe noted, running her eyes over the letter again. "It says I just have to call the lawyer's office to countersign before Christmas Eve, you and Maze too...Shit..." Chloe put her hand over her mouth realising she had sworn in front of Charlie.

"Shit what?" Linda asked eyes scanning with some haste over the fund for Charlie in her hands, trying to take it in too and her error passing her by. Even for her own rational, logical mind, Linda was shocked at what he had left for her son. In reality though she should have seen this of Lucifer long ago. This was the kind of thing he would just do. She looked up to see Chloe with her lips pressed together, her hand automatically going to her abdomen. Linda knew what that was. "How late are you?"

Chloe breathed pointedly, calculating in her head. "Ten days... Eleven days" she corrected.

"Symptoms?" Linda asked, well and truly distracted now from the document in front of her. Her own memories of her particular realisation were still too fresh.

The woman across the table swallowed, her eyes tracking to Charlie who was grinning at her as he tapped his palms on the arms of the chair. The half-angel baby. "I'm tired, but what's new about that? I feel sick day in day out but I know that's because I don't eat properly. But he can't have children...he's told me he can't".

"Amenediel thought that too", Linda offered, taking a glance at Charlie in the high chair opposite them too. "Chloe, if you keep an eye on Charlie I will run down to CVS...If you want me to". It was only a couple of minutes drive away if that.

"I've got to know, haven't I?" Chloe asked, grimacing.

Linda nodded. "Speaking as a professional and your therapist, yes you need to know as we...well if it is, you are, you know. We need to know so we can put in place strategies, yes?"

So, the two women sat on Chloe's bathroom floor, the white stick on the shelf above their heads as Charlie chattered nonsense at them as he sat between Chloe's knees. "I don't want another child" Chloe confessed after far too long an adult silence. "Trixie used to nag for a sibling all the time, but even she stopped when she got the hint about it not happening". _Until a few weeks ago, that was. _"I don't even want _Lucifer's_ child".

"We don't know whether you are having one yet, Chloe" Linda replied trying to keep a cool head. "With all the stress you have been under recently I am not surprised if you're system is all over the place".

"Yeah", Chloe replied trying to convince herself. "I mean, it's done it before. When Dad died, when he left the first time..." She knew then it was impossible she could be pregnant then but this time, well it was possible wasn't it? Even likely? Chloe breathed in and put her hands on her abdomen again, guilt washing over her. "I think I might have pickled and starved the poor little soul already". _No more alcohol; eat properly_. _Pregnant or not, do it for your own sake._ It was going to be the kick up the ass she needed either way. "How long's it been?"

Linda looked at her watch. "About now". She saw Chloe's face fall. "Do you want me to look?" The detective nodded and Linda stood up taking test off the shelf. She tried to keep her face as neutral as possible as she read the stick. She passed it down and a wave of something or other washed over Chloe.

"It could still be a false negative, couldn't it?" She didn't have that with Trixie though. She knew so early then.

"Well, perhaps if Aunt Flo doesn't visit in the next few days we do the next one?" the doctor offered as she sat back down again.

Chloe considered her words, throwing her arms around her friend. "Come on" she started, her voice tired. "Let's go and take a proper look at those papers. Maze should be here soon". It was an unwritten promise between the two that they would not mention the possibility she was carrying the devil's child. That might just throw the demon off the proverbial edge.

The second they made it down stairs, Maze was already sitting at the dining table, glass of wine in one hand and Trix's trust deed in the other. Chloe and Linda shot each other a look, the former thinking they had got over the 'breaking in' business long ago. Clearly she was wrong.

Maze, herself, was not sure how to react to the news of the trust funds, the shares, even though she was a recipient. It was a material thing that she did not need for a start but what was he doing?! "So he's gone then? Like gone for good then?" She was not afraid, as ever, to keep the contempt out of her voice for him as she launched the share certificate across the table. Swearing, she thought, was out of bounds with their being another small human in hearing distance. Normally she would not have been bothered but she didn't want Decker on her back.

"No Maze" Chloe replied, trying to convince herself now as she took a little more time over reading the correspondence from the lawyer. "He said it's not a Will. He told me so".

Maze made a huffing noise and pulled something out of her pocket. "He left something else for you, Decker". She produced the gold object Lucifer had passed to her surreptitiously on the balcony and slid it across the table. She knew what it was the second she pulled it out of her trousers after they had tucked the detective up in bed and who she had to give it to. Whilst she had not been a party to its theft, she knew where Lucifer had hidden it and knew what it did.

"That's the disc that Eve stole" Chloe responded, taking the small object into her hand, spinning it between her fingers. _How she got the demons out of Hell._

"That _Lucifer_ stole", Maze corrected her, glad the thing was out of her possession at last and feeling a stab of something in her chest; still defending the other woman. It was Lucifer that stole the disc from his father before he fell, Eve just happened to find it.

"What does it do?" Linda asked, unsure herself what it was. Chloe just knew what it had done already and as with everything celestial that had come here way recently she was anxious.

"It does anything you like" the demon offered casually hunting through the paperwork spread out on the dining table. Immediately Chloe's trouble radar ramped up to unprecedented levels and her face must have told Maze the whole story. The demon sighed like she was bored with this already. "It allows the user of it to do anything they like, within reason" Maze parroted rocking her head from side to side. They were Lucifer's words not hers. Chloe was wary too now, Maze was impassive (why he thought it was a good idea to let her be the messenger of this she would never know) and Linda was intrigued.

"Let me try!" Linda offered, taking the disc off Chloe before she had chance to object or lean to grab it back. Linda closed her eyes, rolling the disc between her fingers and immediately the front door of the house popped open. "You can open doors!" she offered incredulously, looking around for something else she could do.

"Don't go too mad with it Doc" Maze laughed sarcastically, flipping over another page but stealing the disc back to give to the Detective. "From what the jerk to told me, its problematic so seriously, don't screw with it" she continued, still marginally disinterested, as she moved onto the next bit of documentation.

"Did Lucifer ever use it?" the Detective asked, Maze passing it back over to her. You could be up to all kinds with this and part of Chloe suspected that he might have just done in one day past.

"Not to my knowledge" the demon replied. "I think even he realised how dangerous it could be in the incorrect hands".

"Like Eve" Chloe pointed out_. Even now, if she could get her hands on that woman._

"Shut up Decker. Just be grateful I gave it to you" Maze responded venomously. This was a bad, bad idea to pass that thing to the human, but she had to do what he clearly wanted.

"Yes, thanks Maze" Chloe replied equally as sarcastically, "but why did he give to me?" At best it confused her as to why he had given her something so potentially powerful. Maybe she should tell Raphie. He might now how to use it properly or control it?

"Dunno" Maze responded with a shrug. "Because you are about the only person he can trust with it; cos Little Miss Missionary Position won't abuse it, will she?"

Chloe frowned and the expression stayed there for the rest of the evening until she found herself in bed, sitting up cross legged with the disc resting on her palm. "Luce?" she said, "I know you probably can't hear me". _Does the Devil accept prayers? _"But what do I do with this? I mean it will be so useful at work, you know" she offered with a giggle, "but..." She passed the disc from one hand to the other. "Thank you for trusting me with it and thank you for thinking of me and Trix. You didn't have to do what you did and I still don't know how_ I'll_ accept the money, but at least I know she'll never struggle when she gets older. So, thank you". Chloe shook her head. "I've said 'thank you' so many times...but yeah..."

She swallowed carefully and rubbed the surface of the disc with her thumb. "I'll keep it safe for you". Should she tell him about her suspicions? She decided not to. What if he could hear her after all? She wanted to speak to him and that disc did do whatever you wanted didn't? Would you want that kind of news from such a distance away? She kept her counsel. "Well, goodnight Luce", Chloe offered, blowing a kiss to the sky. "I miss you".

That night Chloe had her answer about her maybe-baby at four that morning. She woke with that familiar dull pain behind her pubic bone that was always her body's signal without fail. "Oh you took your time!" she muttered getting out of bed to the bathroom, blinding herself with the light as she flicked it on.

She had been so adamant about how she felt about another child, but as she caught sight of herself in the bathroom mirror, she could not help but wonder. She sighed.

It was too late now anyway.


	47. Chapter 47

Gabriel and Orifiel stood outside the vast oak door on another of their Father's missions.

"You hesitate, brother?" Gabriel asked resting his palm on his sibling's shoulder wondering why there was this sudden reticence to move.

Orifiel let out a breath at the contact; too many thoughts and fears cascading through his mind. He turned his head. "I still do not understand why Father wished his presence here, my friend. Why he sought to summon him. It will cause no end of trouble. Surely you have heard the whispers already?"

"We are not here to question any motive" Gabriel replied gravely and yes he had heard that the whole of Heaven seemed to know of Samael's presence. "Father wills it that he be here therefore it will be done, brother mine".

"You sound like Amenediel" Orifiel countered with a cynical laugh. "Well before...well before all of that business with the child occurred."

"Brother" Gabriel started, squeezing his sibling's shoulder again. "Samael is dangerous, polluted by evil. You know this as do I; as do all of our brethren. He is a negative influence within this family and we do not wish to cause any more disruption than has already occurred, surely? I have no idea why Father wanted him here but he is, so we have to do Father's bidding. You know that he will see it done, whether it is us or another of our siblings". Orifiel nodded, carefully considering his brother's words and knocked briskly on the door. Gabriel was probably right after all, he was so wise.

"Come in!" Lucifer barked standing up to be greeted by his brothers again. He simply crossed his arms over his body and raised an eyebrow waiting for his response. That petulant 'teenage' Lucifer was far too close to the surface in these past days of being stuck; being played, as he saw it, as another pawn in his Father's game of emotional chess whilst he was kept at arm's length from everything bar Chloe's Dad who had visited again as they soaked in whiskey and laughter. '_Tell my little apple blossom I love her, you hear me? Tell her as soon as you see her'. _ Lucifer watched his brothers as he smiled at the memory.

"Father wishes to meet with us", Gabriel offered, unintentionally mirroring his brother's defensive body language. "Well, he wishes meet with you. We are to take you to him".

Lucifer huffed, staring down imperviously at his siblings unable to keep the derision at this development out of his voice. "He took his time..."

The three brothers walked with some pace to what Lucifer would probably call their father's study; a place some minutes walk away lined with even more dark oak panels. The bright light that streamed in from the vast floor to ceiling windows on one wall almost blinded him as they stepped inside. The room itself was empty, bar its furniture, but the second Lucifer looked up he saw their father walking towards them from another door. Gabriel and Orifiel fell to their knees, heads bowed in reverence but Lucifer did not move; staring the man down with ill disguised contempt as too many memories roared barely below the surface.

"Kneel down, brother!" Gabriel whisper-shouted to him, glaring at him out of the corner of his eye as he felt the tension rise in the room. "Where has your respect gone?!" Lucifer looked skyward – well even more skyward – and reluctantly got down on his knees, hearing his father's footsteps across the stone floor.

"Stand". It was the first time in millennia he had heard his Father's voice as it boomed across the room to them and the three got up, Lucifer brushing dust off his trouser legs as the other two stood to attention. The room fell into an uneasy silence but Lucifer was the first to speak.

"What has happened to Amenediel?" His question was direct. He was in no mood to be messing around.

"He has been put on trial" his Father replied far too matter-of-factly for his son, standing over them and clasping his hands together.

"On trial?" Lucifer asked, taking a step forward but Orifiel took hold of his elbow. He shook it off sharply and immediately.

"Yes" his Father responded. "Past tense. It has occurred already. You know full well he interfered with my plans, interfered and brought a soul that ought not to be back on earth. A soul that he had stolen from Hell thinking somehow it would cause your return to Hell. Thankfully, my Miracle reinstated the plan. His trial has been fair", his Father concluded in that way that all three brothers knew was the end of it; well two out of the three.

"A democracy now?" Lucifer responded, almost on the verge of laughter. "Like the fair trial you gave me? Before you threw me away?" Lucifer asked wringing a second attempt by Orifiel to take hold of his arm away from his brother's hold. He was trying to keep his voice as level as possible.

"You will not see him, Samael", his Father responded almost predicting what his son was about to say. He could see all three of his sons tense, all for differents reasons at the mention of the once mightly Amenediel.

Lucifer straightened his shoulders. He was not taking this. Despite their argument, when he would admit he could have caused Amenediel some harm, he was not taking this. "Why?"

His father cocked his head to one side and studied the three men before him. "You defy me? I already question that brother who took a message to earth for you and Amenediel". He heard a derisory snort from Lucifer. "So, you defy me? Is that it again?"

"Yes I do" Lucifer replied, taking a step closer before Gabriel could grab him this time. "He is your son just as I am and these two sycophants too" he exclaimed gesturing with a thumb behind him. "I know Raphie took a message for me and believe me _Father_, I am glad he did, so I challenge you here and now. Throw me back to earth, strip me of every power you ever gave me, I don't care! I wish to see my brother and go to my home_ where I have real family_! Make me mortal and I will burn with rest of them when I die for defying you; again if I have to. I don't care!" He was almost in his father's face now. "I have few things I care about, but I have a nephew who happens to be the child of a very good, _loyal_, friend of mine, so let me see him!"

God laughed. "I know about Dr Martin and young Charlie", he started firmly. "I admit that he is somewhat of an anomaly but your brother's questionable decisions in becoming entangled with a human resulted in his birth and it altered matters somewhat".

"So is Chloe a questionable decision of mine?" Lucifer asked, hackles rising and yes, there he was, the fire brewing underneath his skin and this time, he had no intention of stopping it taking over. If his father wanted what he made his son, he would have it with every barrel he could offer.

"Of course not" his father replied, his voice dropping to a calmer level. He turned to his other two sons who were still standing to attention. "Gabriel, Orifiel, leave us be and do not wait or return".

The two archangels blinked. "Leave you, Father?" Gabriel offered, the surprise in his voice evident. "Are you sure of that?"

"Yes leave us" their father replied. "This is not your business. You have done your works in bringing Samael to me so you will leave now." So, with some hesitation, they left and once he was sure that his other two sons were out of earshot God gestured for Lucifer to sit down on a stiff backed chair by his desk. "Son", God began, seating too and lacing his fingers together. "Why do you think I called you here?"

"So you can take from me again?" Lucifer asked, smartly brushing an imaginary mark off his trousers as he crossed one leg over the other.

His father shook his head, sighing at this continued defiance. "No, Samael. I created the child, I had Amenediel bless the Deckers, out of love for you so she would be born for you and you alone" he began but Lucifer made a huffing sound. "If you do not wish to believe me, then you are free to do so, that is what you want isn't it? Free will?" He saw his son get up to leave. "Samael sit down and listen for a change". Reluctantly Lucifer did so. "My Miracle was placed on this earth for you son, I thought you already knew that?"

"I do", Lucifer replied.

"But you want to know why?" God asked.

"To 'redeem' me" he mocked. As much as he wanted to believe Chloe was put in his path for him, it was still too important that she was not manipulated, that she was free to make her own decisions. Sometimes her words were not enough.

"Yes" his father responded, before he sat back in his chair, a loud exhalation of air from his lungs. "Son, what happened between you and I...you were my most perfect son, my delight, the chief of all my angels, the most powerful being..."

"Besides you" Lucifer chipped in, sarcastically.

"That goes without saying" his father smiled, "but, Samael, understand this. You wanted to become your own God, your own version of me. All you wish for is to be praised..."

"I worshipped you Father!" Lucifer exclaimed, resisting a temptation to simply storm out. Yes, he did enjoy attention and yes, if he was speaking truthfully he did get a kick out of fulfilling all of those favours and the devotion he got from it too. "I tried to do everything for you to notice me and...and you...you rejected me. You put me in Hell in amongst all those repugnant humans..." He put his head in his hands, not realising his father was now standing up.

His father touched his shoulder and Lucifer flinched at the unexpected contact. "You have lived among those humans for a long time Samael. You have done things that I perhaps may not have been expected of you for years on years. You made good friends, saved a human life, saved my creation even though I have no absolutely intention of calling her to come home to me any time soon. How many times have you assisted Chloe in her endeavours to bring justice to the families of fallen_ innocent_ lives?" Lucifer just shook his head. The Detective didn't keep a body count and neither did he; he just enjoyed the chase and capture. "Do you not think I spot all those gestures that you do silently? A Trust for a child that is not your responsibility; someone else's daughter? You have shown me what you are capable of; shown me you can be better and it is now time, I think".

"So, Chloe is my reward for being a good boy?" Lucifer asked, an exhaustion suddenly creeping up on him that he had not felt quite before now. Time for what?

"No, Samael. She is not" God replied with a quiet laugh. "No human creation of mine can force you to do that and before you ask" he began, holding up a palm to stop any response, "there is nothing celestial about her". Well that answered one question that had actually been fairly far down the list, but his father carried on. "You have had to find this within yourself. You have seen the worst of yourself and the best of yourself and you chose to confront it to be better for her. I find the child simply assisted. She showed you the right path, but you were the one who chose to take it".

Lucifer sighed loudly. Had he? He looked up, swiping a palm over his tired eyes. "So, what now? Where do I go from here?" He didn't just mean home.

"What do you want, Samael?" his father asked. Now that was a trick question if ever there was one and Lucifer eyed him suspiciously. He had every material possession he could want and enough money for lifetimes over.

"A life on earth" the Devil replied quietly. With his new family. "No looking over my shoulder every five minutes wondering who or what was going to try and drag me back to Hell again".

"Any father wants the best for their son" his father continued, standing up and beginning to walk back and forth in the room, hands folded behind his back. "Occasionally it takes some time for that child to realise what they may not like, is actually in their own best interests and trust me, I have always acted in your best interests. I have conditions" he continued, interrupting his son's thoughts of a retort.

Lucifer rolled his eyes and sat up properly. "Of course..."

"Are you going listen to me?" God asked.

"Yes Father". Sometimes it was best to take the path of least resistance.

"Good. Now you will continue to rule Hell" God continued. Lucifer opened his mouth to speak but his father put his hand up to stop him. "Listen to me. You will be responsible for it and you will be omnipotent over it. I have already decided on a suitable punishment for your brothers long ago and it somewhat resolves issues for us both".

Lucifer's head snapped up. "So Amenediel's trial was a sham?" Lucifer paused as something struck him. "Brothers? Plural?" Then he realised. Michael. _Of course._

"No, he was tried fairly, as was Michael for assisting the wife of Adam. I saw from her first what Hell is capable of; how evil infects and pollutes the spirit. I saw what evil is capable of Samael and it has brought to me first hand just how far you have come, how you have been released from its clutches; released from the clutches of your pride. You are not evil, my son".

"You just made me that way" he muttered in response, getting up and pacing too now.

"No, son" his father replied, spinning on his heels. "You were the strongest of my children. The one that I truly believed could bring order to the heathen and you are doing it. Evil had to be punished, but yes, there were...were aspects that I regret". Lucifer looked up at him confused. "It is simple son and my 'deal' for you if you will take it?" The Devil nodded for him to continue, curious and wary as to what he was about to say. "You will continue to rule Hell, but you have two brothers who must seek their own redemption now. Michael and Amenediel will be your guardians entirely under your command".

"What?" _Another bloody 'test' then?! How he can wrangle his brothers?_

"They will guard the demons and residents. They will guard Hell for you whilst you continue your works on Earth", God concluded. "Report to you and obey your decisions and wants". Lucifer was suddenly reminded of a conversation he had with Amendiel far too many years ago. This time Lucifer took no satisfaction in it. _'__You're scared, aren't you? That if I don't go back to Hell, you're gonna have to take over'. _His father breathed. "You will visit, but you are free to move as you wish. If in time..." his father continued, his plan thought out as to...

"What about when Chloe dies?" Lucifer interrupted. He would admit he had thought about that day and it terrified every cell in his body. His one wish, one day, would be that he, the Devil, could bring her to her Dad and perhaps now that could be possible even if it would break him into pieces to leave her. After meeting the man, yes, that was his wish.

"If you continue in this way that you are, Samael, you will be free to visit her here as you want to. But do not think I wish to call her soon. I have said that before and it remains the truth. My child will come home to me in due time. There will be no question over that", his father stated.

Lucifer bit his tongue. Chloe might have a few words to say about that prospect but no, he would bring her to her Dad. Underneath it all, it would be what she would want. "What will you do about Charlie?" The rebellion and his nephew's attempted kidnap were still at the forefront of his mind and what if the child was a half-angel?

"You will ensure his safety on earth before I call him to me. Amenediel will be free to see the child under your command but you are to be his guardian". Lucifer almost choked. Him? Guardian of a child? "You will teach him what you have learned".

"I am not his father", Lucifer replied bluntly.

"I know. You are his uncle but due to his own father's recalcitrance". His father looked at him. "It is my only deal, Samael. Do you take it?"

Lucifer sighed. He understood that Amenedial must repent. He had come so close to killing his brother for bringing Malcolm back and to some extent, he also understood his Father's fury at his own rebellion. "I will take it".

"Good, now I will call a Council of your brothers and tell them of my decision. After which, will you walk me with son?" God asked.

"Father..." Lucifer began. "I need to go back to Chloe. I have to go back home" he continued.

"I know you do son" his father responded, seeing something in his child's eyes he had not seem for such a long time. "In fact my child I will come with you. I wish to meet her at last". Lucifer made what could only be described as a choking noise and his father smiled. "Walk with me son. Stay for a while and walk with me. You will return in time once we have talked further." His father gestured towards another door; one Lucifer knew took them outside the building and son followed father out. "I will also retrieve that disc you stole from me too", he added quickly.

Sometime later, Lucifer found himself back in the quarters still feeling uneasy. It was too simple. Sitting on the couch, elbows on his knees, head in his hands, he needed to talk to someone who would be rational about it all. The good doctor for a start or...Chloe or... Lucifer paused. If he could seek out her Dad! He got up, stepping maybe two paces intent on finding John, when a violent stabbing pain shot through his head. He staggered back to the couch, landing down with a thud so unable to focus on anything but the searing hurt inside him.

_"__Hey Luce"_

Chloe?

The pain in his head dissipated for a second. It was like old radio static as it settled, fizzling in his ears and causing his vision to blur. "... _probably can't hear me. You never...me whether you acc...prayers...but...don't think this... a prayer. Might be...not be...don't..."_ she rambled but he smiled. Thank you Mazey. The Devil knew he could rely on his demon. Loyal until the end. He knew the disc would come in useful and he hoped she was using it wisely. A shock buzzed thorough his head again and he grimaced.

_"__Anyway second... lucky",_ she breathed. She'd tried before? Was that was she was saying – 'second time lucky?' _"It's almost mid... in bed. And no Luce...some kind of...ex phone line..." _He smiled; his heart racing with joy and want; want to just see her face. _"Solved that Atkinson murder... Trix is doing okay...school. She needs to you back...history grades". He heard her sigh. "Works okay but I... sleep... for a week. I need you ba...Going to the lawyers on... to sign over every...you left. I am grateful. I... put my own pride aside and accept...want us to have... things so, thank you Luce. I love..."_

_Put my pride aside._ Lucifer closed his eyes. "I love you too Detective".

There was silence 'on the line' and then a curious giggle. _"...imagined you... you loved me too"._ She giggled again but it was stopped as she yawned. _"Sorry Luce. I gotta sleep...late...try to do...try...tomorrow. Good... Luce."_

"Goodnight Detective", he breathed, the ache in his head going almost as swiftly as it started. That giggle again when she thought she was imagining his voice. She would keep trying though. It made her feel better; gave her something to look forward to if she could just talk to thin air about her day.

That day rolled into another, and another and every day his father had called for him and they would walk. They would go on paths through verdant healthy gardens filled with thriving trees and plants. Buildings, some of which Lucifer recalled from days long past, stood strong and proud all around him but this was still not a place he truly felt he belonged. Not yet. He had not heard from Chloe since that crackly attempt at communication some days before but he had lost track. She was busy; she had her own life to lead after all. He couldn't expect to hear from her _every _day. He missed her; he missed Lux, the City of Angels...everyone and day after day he waiting for his Father's word. That was the first part of his 'test', he assumed. 'Testing' his patience. Lucifer was itching to go home but he knew he had to see his brother before he did so too; long before he took that particular trip. What if Amenediel was already in Hell? How would he explain _that _to the good doctor? He was pacing again up and down the sitting room of his quarters, hands twisting thinking of a way to find him quietly.

_"__Hey Prince of Darkness..."_

Lucifer burst out laughing. "Oh! Hello Detective." No pain, no warning this time, just her sweet voice filtering through the ether into his head.

_"__Been to the lawyers... Trix to the lodge this week... Do you mind?"_

"Not at all" he replied to himself, still unsure if she could hear. "It's yours to do with as you wish". This time her communication had not been preceded by that pain nor was it as interrupted, as crackly, as before but it was still not perfect. Had she been practising?

_"__Raphie showed me how to work this thing, properly. How to tune in to you but...know if its... I've been trying so..."_ Lucifer sat down ready to listen._"__He's not pleased I... but it's...late now!"_ He heard her sigh. _"Anyway, you ...want to know how I am... honest, I don't know how I feel. It's nearly...weeks just so you know. It's Christmas in... Don't know how time works with you so, but there it is. Trix got an A in her history test...we erm...your library. Hope you don't mind"._

"I don't". Any agitation he had felt had calmed just from her tones.

_"__Anyway, I gotta go, lunch... over. Dan.. me. He's just getting me...more cheesecake and I'm just think... all of this so don't know... it'll work. We're having firearms training... in Pasedena – they've stuck us in some old rat inf...motel on the edge of...so Maze has Trix - and we have to... back for half... to start again... tomorrow too. Miss you so much. We all do." _With that she was gone.

Lucifer sighed. He was pleased he could 'speak' to her but she still didn't sound like her old self. All these little snippets of what she would say was her 'boring life' were like soul food to him. He had to find Amenediel quick sharp. A promise was a promise and in truth that fire he had felt towards him, over Malcolm, had dimmed. No, this was enough. He got up, straight out of the door and headed back to where he knew his brother's old quarters were. He would find Chloe's dad later.

Striding along the corridors, he saw no-one until ahead of him until he saw three, well he could suppose he would describe them as dressed like his father's 'staff' standing in a huddle. The second they saw him they scattered with whispers and looks. "Hmmm" Lucifer muttered to himself. "One supposes ones reputation precedes me". Not necessarily a bad thing around here. He continued for what seemed like miles, seeing few around him until he fell upon a familiar hallway.

In front of him was a door and some sixth sense told him Amenediel was behind it. Lucifer paused, looking around him for any other signs of life. He found none. A brief knock and the door opened.

"Luci..." Amenediel sounded wary, standing up and stepping back as Lucifer shot into the room and closed the door behind himself. The last time they had spoken it had resulted in that rather unpleasant incident where he found himself pinned by the neck to Chloe's front door. Was he in for the same treatment? He knew how powerful his brother was; powers which he had only shown a fraction of on earth and he was reticent to speak.

"What happened?" Lucifer asked, pacing towards a window where he looked down onto those gardens where he had walked with his Father in these days past. More and more people seemed to be milling about now; more than ever.

"He told you about the trial?" Amenediel asked, coming to stand by his brother's side. Lucifer nodded. "He found that I was guilty of, well, in effect, I suppose you would call it treason. I admitted it before the Council. I should never have brought Malcolm back...it was...Malcolm Graham was a psychopath. I know that. Now" Amenediel added quietly before they fell into an awkward silence giving each other sideways glances as they pretended there was not an elephant in the room.

"I forgive you" Lucifer announced all of a sudden as his sibling's head snapped around, not quite believing what he was hearing. "I am giving you my forgiveness brother. You have changed too. You took care of Charlotte, you want to take care of Charlie and, well, I have been there brother. In need of forgiveness from bloody who knows what..."

Amenediel breathed in, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I have, brother. I mocked you for your attachment to humans and my loyalty to Father was overshadowing what was unfolding in front of me. I regret that Luci, I do. Father has punished me and I must accept that". He could see the cogs whirring behind his brothers eyes. "What?"

"I think I have a way around it. A way around you having to guard Hell for me" Lucifer announced cautiously. Amenediel already knew his 'punishment' and would accept it with good grace in the hope he too could seek his father's redemption and not be cast out entirely. He had to see Charlie grow up. "Father's deal wasn't exactly..." Lucifer paused. "Not exactly defined as to the extent of my role; _how_ I would make decisions whilst I am home on earth". His brother nodded not sure what to make of it. Talk of earth, talk of home and it made both brothers think.

"How is Chloe?" Amenediel asked and he saw a flicker of sadness on his brother's face. "It's not as though I last saw her on good terms and well, I wish to apologise to her again".

"She is..." He did not want to say she had been trying to communicate with him and in truth after that last night when she witnessed the fight, they had not spoken any further about it. "Well, she's the Detective, you know..." Lucifer shrugged.

Amenediel nodded realising he was not going to get much more out of his brother about Chloe right now. He probably missed her horribly; he certainly missed Linda and Charlie. He could not imagine how awful it must have been for her to witness his, well, how he left. "So this means you can go back? Live as you want?" Amenediel asked.

"On the surface yes" Lucifer replied.

"Do you not trust him?" his brother asked, knowing what the answer would be already.

"Do you?" Lucifer laughed when his brother shook his head. "Think of it this way. Father told me that you and Michael are completely under my command, right? You and I are not...well Michael, we are not...As I said I think I have a way that will satisfy us both". Lucifer paused. Neither brother's relationship with Michael was the very best and to honest if Luci had found a way around it then the mores the better. "Do you know what happened to Eve?" The question came out of Lucifer's mouth before he could stop it. In reality he just wanted her as far away as possible from him as he could. He could walk into her any day up here; either that or her husband and that might just ruin it all.

Amenediel shook his head. "She was tried and Father was seeking to expunge Hell from its hold her, but I know no more than that. I did ask but Father, he, well, no, he refused to tell me". He thought for a second. "Does he know you are here with me?"

"No", Lucifer replied, another question curious on his lips. "Are you... are you able to move freely here, brother?" Amenediel nodded watching two figures walk in the gardens below them. Gabriel and Orifiel, probably spying he thought. "Right then", Lucifer started, straightening his suit. "Let's go and see Father then".

Eight weeks it had been. It had been so long without word that Chloe was truly worried. Christmas and New Year had been and gone as had Raphael, apparently called back on business to his Father more often than not. It had been almost ten days since she had seen Lucifer's brother and it felt as though the whole household was slipping back into the mire.

The argument she had with Trix on the way to her Dad's yesterday was still on her mind; the one where her daughter had told her, shouted, that it was her Mom's fault that Lucifer was gone. The one where the young girl screamed how much she missed him and how if Chloe had just _understood_ him more and_ loved him long ago_ then they could have been happy all this time. She could still feel the car door slam as the vehicle almost vibrated with her daughter's fury before she ran up the path to her Dad's arms. The one person who should love her all her life hated her. Those were the last words she heard and there had been no 'Goodnight Mom' text last night either and nothing this morning. That hatred that Chloe had for herself had started to spike through now; of her stupidity, of her fear, of how easily she had let herself be manipulated. How she wished she had given in to Lucifer Morningstar with the feelings she had almost from those first moments they had together.

Raphael had the disc now too – she had no choice but to give it back weeks ago- and Chloe had truly missed those few minutes here and there that she thought she might be speaking to him. The longer she went without those quiet 'chats', the more nervous she became. Everyone had noticed. She was snippy again, not sleeping and whilst she had kept her promise to Mother Nature that she would stop drinking and eat properly even if she had to force herself, Chloe knew she was slipping again. It had all been a _little bit_ _shit_ to be honest and last night just served to top it all off.

In work early, as was her want these days when Trix had been with Dan overnight, she had started to tackle a small mountain of paper work before the day really started. One coffee down and half way down the second, Chloe was making progress and in truth, she was using work as a distraction again. She had taken on other cases that probably increased her workload unnecessarily but anything to keep her mind off Lucifer. Last night, sitting in the car outside Dan's, her heart still racing from the argument, she just wanted to scream in frustration. She almost, almost came in work and pulled some overtime when her stomach grumbled for food and she remembered her promise to Lucifer's maybe-baby. She was going mad. Keeping promises to something that did not exist and never would.

Now this morning, the station was quiet and, thinking it far later than it actually was, somewhere she registered footsteps as they walked towards her desk. Just in the periphery of her vision she saw a takeaway coffee cup from her favourite place put down on her battered LA Dodgers coaster with its chewed edges that really needed replacing one of these days.

"Thanks Dan" Chloe said, not particularly paying attention but instead of moving away, the figure stayed and she briefly glanced up, her immediate thought being was that Trix had been giving Dan attitude too and he was about to vent.

"Do you know Detective", a rather familiar smooth British voice began, "one does rather take exception to being mistaken for your ex-husband..."

The fingertips that had been tapping on the keyboard stopped and Chloe blinked; a tension rising in her that was an alarming mix of fear, anxiety and joy. Tears sprung to her eyes as she looked up properly this time.

"Lucifer?!"


	48. Chapter 48

Chloe found herself repeating her question as her brain refused to compute what, or who, was standing in front of her. "Lucifer?"

She wanted to fly into his arms but stood still, almost not believing what she was seeing as her eyes ran up and down his suited form. He was dressed just as smart as he ever was; his usual dapper self, but despite it being a quiet morning, there were still too many people about for her to react with such a show of emotion. There were too many people passing judgment on where the consultant had gone this time too.

"Only me, Detective" he smiled, watching her keeping the desk between them but her eyes were flying around the room at anyone who might be watching. She felt blood rushing around her body and as she blinked again, Chloe could feel herself slowly starting to drift and separate from herself, feeling her body almost start to lift and lighten.

"Hi..." she said her voice higher that she perhaps expected it to be and she coughed trying to gain some semblance of control over her rapidly beating heart. "Hi...You're back then" Chloe whispered trying to play it cool, like he was just their civilian consultant turning back up again but he could see she was antsy. He was too. "How's your family?" Chloe asked, voice still slightly raised to anyone that might just be looking. This was her ruse after all that he had gone back again for 'still more family trouble'.

"Erm..." Lucifer started, smiling politely at a colleague who gently slapped him on the arm and whispered a 'good to see you man'. "I rather think it might be resolved", he offered cautiously but saw a light in her eyes that she tried and failed to control.

Chloe swallowed as expectation bubbled up inside her. That could go one of two ways. "Is this it? For good?" she asked, until she saw him take a pace closer to her desk, wary of thinking that they might finally have a chance. She could feel her cheeks were pink, burning.

He dodged the question though. "We are both back", he began quietly. "Me and Amenediel have come back".

"What?" Chloe asked, fingertips tapping nervously on her desk; still forming an unconscious barrier between them but she was rooted to the spot. "Where is he?" She was still not sure how she felt about his brother even now all these weeks had passed by.

"I sent him to the good doctor. Where else?" Lucifer smiled, trying to break the frankly strange mood that has descended between the two of them; this need to just hold her but tempered by the fact he probably should have gone to the house tonight rather than the station for their reunion. He could not wait though as this desperation to just see her took his feet towards her workplace instead.

"You _sent_ him?" Chloe asked frowning. She had picked up his emphasis and she would admit it was an odd turn of phrase. What in God's na...what had gone on now?

"Yes, I erm..." Lucifer was frowning, standing even closer to her now and mirroring her pose; arms outstretched and fingertips too tapping on the desk. "I wonder Detective, can we go somewhere else and talk about this?" His eyes were pleading with her and he swallowed nervously. "Do you have any appointments today or a new stiff to start the day?"

Chloe stopped herself telling him off for using the word 'stiff' to describe a corpse and she did not hear the very slight innuendo in his tone. She did have to spend some time away from the station today as it happened so it was, well, ideal. "I've got to go and see a witness", Chloe began, knowing she would be leaving too early for a ten o'clock appointment but it might give them the chance to talk on the way. She could see he was as anticipatory as she was but this was just _weird_. "Why don't you come out there with me? Help me out?"

"Yes of course", Lucifer smiled, clasping his hands together and nodding far too furiously. "Excellent idea, Detective. We can catch up on the way". He was trying to sound casual too but he knew he was failing miserably as she picked up her keys and bag. He followed close on her heels. As well as Amenediel, having found out Michael had already been delivered to Hell and still with no proper word of Eve, Lucifer had travelled with his father. He had left him at Lux with an incredibly annoyed Maze.

_"__You are the only person I can trust Mazey" he had pleaded as he had propelled the demon into his dressing room; his father out on the balcony so he would not overhear them. "You have to keep him here until I can warn Chloe he's down here with me..."_

_Maze had sighed. Loudly, and with little disguise of the contempt she felt towards his father, she had agreed after some persuasion. She had been downstairs in the bar when they had arrived and it took all her might not to kick the pair of them straight back out again. God, Angel, whatever! Her first question caused Lucifer to roll his eyes. "Can I torture him?"_

_"__No Maze" he'd replied quickly._

_"__Go on please" she had asked. "Just a little bit...your Detective's spawn helped me choose a new knife...!"_

_"__No!"_

By the time Chloe and Lucifer had made it to the car park he noticed she was driving a different car; a brand new black and rather dominating SUV. "The other ones in the shop" she started. She did not have to read his mind; the slight look of panic on his face at the change said it all. "Blown exhaust yesterday so its only temporary". It was a shame actually; she liked this car.

Lucifer nodded. Why he was suddenly so twitchy with the simple change of her driving a new car, even if it was for a few days, he would never know but could probably guess. He watched her as she fished the keys out of her pocket. It was as though she was moving in slow motion and he stepped closer to her back, crowding her space as a warm hand arrived on her hip, thumb moving in a circle; something just driving him blindly to touch her. "Luce?" she asked curiously as she turned around, feeling his grip on her. He was still silent, yet the next thing she felt was his hand on her neck and his mouth on hers; almost violently but with a desperation she had not felt before, forcing her lips apart as he almost devoured her. He could have his moments, when he got a little carried away where he had been a perhaps a touch rough with her in his keenness before, but he was the Devil after all. He wasn't hurting her by any means but Chloe was surprised at just how intense this kiss was. Her hands hovered in mind air as it took a moment for her brain to catch up with what he was doing, before she found herself throwing her arms around his neck and letting him take her over.

"Fuck..." he breathed through the kiss as the quietest of sighs slipped out of her. "I missed you so much. So, so much". He heard her whine and felt a push to his chest. Lucifer quickly broke away. "Sorry..."

"Don't be sorry" Chloe breathed as she bit her lip, quickly checking that no-one was in sight at this very public display of his affection towards her. "You should go away more..." she started, looking at him from under her eyelashes, before she saw a flash of horror on his face. "No, no... I didn't mean that...I didn't mean that!" Chloe pleaded, her hand over her mouth appalled at her own words.

"I know what you meant", he smiled, removing the offending appendage. He couldn't help himself, that need to be closer to her was overwhelming. "What day is it?"

"February nineteen. Friday", Chloe responded, feeling his palms creep up to her jaw again, leaning towards her. "Luce no, stop it", she whispered. He felt a more forceful push on his chest. "Do what you like when we get home but not here". He nodded carefully and opened up the car door for her and she slid in trying to dampen down the fire that had reared its head by that kiss.

The drive was quiet, edged with a tension that neither wanted to put a name to. It wasn't an overspill of the kiss, although that still lingered, it was the question she had asked at the station_. "Is this it? For good?"_

Lucifer started to recognise some of the streets and houses as she drove and realised, almost too late, that she had pulled into her own drive. He looked at her with a confused expression. "I thought we were going to interview a witness, Detective?"

"We are" she replied, killing the engine. "He lives over the street, just at the bottom" she started, gesturing towards the way the house was much closer to the beach. "Easy place to park" she shrugged. "I thought we could go and see him and then come back here to have something for lunch". It sounded innocent. It could be innocent but Chloe was out of the car before he had a moment to ask.

The witness, an acne-ridden 18 year old trainee chef called Lewis, was actually more use than Chloe expected and from that she had managed to build up quite a good picture of their suspect. She had noticed Lucifer was quiet throughout the whole interview, not even trying to chip in and the mojo was well and truly absent. It filled her heart with dread; this absence of commentary from him that she had got so used to. Maybe he wasn't back permanently. Maybe this was just a visit.

They had walked from the witnesses' house back to hers in that strange silence again but Lucifer finally spoke when the front door was closed. "Where's Raphie?" he asked, eyes wandering around the room, trying to remember each book, each picture of the urchin and the smell of bacon and egg.

"Gone" Chloe replied, dropping her phone and keys onto the breakfast bar before she turned back to him.

"He left you alone?" Lucifer replied sternly as his head shot around to her. "I told him. I told him to..."

"He had other things to do Luce" she offered with a shrug. "It's fine..." It wasn't but Chloe wasn't particularly interested in his brother. She looked up and he was frowning. "Luce...don't just stand there like a statue..." she offered, regarding him as he stood stock still. She had to break this odd feeling between them.

"Hmmm?" he asked, finally focussing on her properly.

"I said don't stand there like a statue", Chloe repeated walking over to him and winding her arms under his and around his waist. She saw the side of Lucifer's mouth turn up in a smile and the next thing Chloe felt was her back hit the wall just by the stairs; his lips buried in her neck. She giggled at the ticklish feel of his breath on her skin. "I missed you so much..." she breathed feeling the weight of his body against her and yes, she had missed him so very much.

"I too Detective", he replied, muffled by her hair and half distracted, but realising that he had to tell her sooner or later about the time bomb ticking at Lux. Assuming Maze hadn't taken to knife throwing practice."I erm...I brought someone back with me that wants to meet you".

"Oh who?" Chloe asked, her head flopping back against the wall so he had better access to her skin.

"Dad" he offered. There was no other way of saying it so he said it

Chloe blinked as her brain short circuited and he felt her straighten up. "Your Dad? As in...?" she swallowed, taking her hand from his bicep and pointing upwards. "God...wants to meet me?" She had maybe expected another brother or sister but not this.

"Yeah" Lucifer responded, going for the buttons on her shirt, popping a few and despite what he had just said, she let him carry on. She was calm about it. Too calm as though she had slipped into some kind of shock for a minute or two.

"Well", she choked pushing his jacket off his shoulders, hearing it hit the floor."You met my Mom so and I've met your Mom –sort of - so I guess your Dad is next and God is supposed to walk amongst us, isn't he?" She looked up at him with wide blue-green eyes.

Lucifer laughed; well more like he snorted. "How true my darling" he responded, "but...well, it's okay?" He had stopped pulling her shirt out of her waistband so he could look her in the eye. "I'd admit it would be surreal to meet someone who two years ago you didn't believe in so you can refuse. If you don't want to, or if you are well, overwhelmed by it you can say no" he insisted, rubbing his thumbs over her sides.

"I'm not going to say no" Chloe smiled before her face fell serious. Her curiosity was peaking and that anger she felt towards his father was biting closely at its heels. "Luce, I want you back here permanently not flitting off all around the place and its time someone told him to stop playing games with his son!" Lucifer laughed at the fearless creature in front of him; her hiccuping and laughing too at the same time. "So when do I meet him? He's not coming here is he?" Now that particular thought made her panic.

"No", he replied, pulling her shirt finally free of her jeans; getting back to his task. "He's at Lux with Maze". He was about to dive for her again, when her hands felt onto his to still him.

"You left a _demon_ in charge of God?!" she exclaimed, wondering how on earth...actually no, that's just what Lucifer would do!

"Yeah!" Lucifer responded with a devious smile. "I thought it would be good...for sport you know". Chloe laughed and shook her head and he took it that she wasn't going to say anything more."Excellent Detective..." he breathed. " Do you know I will make a devil worshipper of you yet"

"Oh, trust me, Satan. I'm a devil worshipper already". Chloe swore under her breath as his eyes flashed scarlet before his mouth slid down and attached to the valley between her breasts. He felt her palm land with gentle thump on the back of his head as he took handfuls of her hips, massaging that little bit of padding she had got back now she was eating properly. Well most of the time. "Luce?" She heard some kind of muffled response that could have been a 'yeah' until she spoke again. "Not here. Come to bed", she purred before he raised his head.

"Your offspring", he started, it springing in his mind whether they might be interrupted. "Where is she?"

"School" Chloe replied, yanking his belt from his trousers. "We had a fight. She's thinks she's staying with Dan another night but he's got a date with Ella tonight so she's got me whether she likes it or not". All he heard was the 'whip' of the leather of his belt as she fought it free. He, however, pulled away from her and she read the look on his face. "Yeah a fight. A doozy too" Chloe continued, watching her own hands as she worked on his trousers. "She hates me for you going now. Blames me".

He frowned, suddenly distracted from her and he stilled her hands. "Do you want me to speak to her?"

"What about your Dad?" she asked, blinking up at him as her concentration was broken.

"He can wait. I will inform her I will collect her from school tonight. She and I will talk and I am sure there is some stocktaking Maze will have left behind that will keep her occupied for a while" Lucifer replied his mind made up and nobody was going to sway him.

"There are rules about child labor" Chloe responded, as he picked her up, legs wrapped around his waist as he started some random dance around the living room spinning her as she felt almost weightless. She had longed for this.

"I am not sending her down a coal mine Detective" he replied bluntly, stopping at the side of the couch. "Until you return from work I will take her to Lux and will bring her back here contrite and apologetic for upsetting you and she will be filled full of strawberry milkshakes and chocolate cake". The look of absolute horror on her face was enough. "I was joking Detective. Banana milkshakes".

Chloe just tutted. "What about your Dad?" She knew she was repeating herself. "Won't he be there?"

Lucifer smiled slyly. "Of course he will be", he responded, eyes brightening as he lay her down on the settee, kneeling to follow her. "Your offspring and my Dad in the same room..."

"You daren't ..." She sighed as he settled down on top of her, dotting kisses to her forehead, cheekbones, jaw, anywhere he could reach. "I mean I know Trix would love it to meet your Dad. Actually I retract that. Her feelings towards your Dad are about the same as mine but even if I said no, she would take no notice of me anyway. Not right now". She thought for a second breathing through these sensations he was creating. "Maybe don't. Bring him here instead."

He kissed her on the cheek, nuzzling his way now along her jaw. "Very well". He paused for second. "There is still something else".

"Oh?" It was more curious than wary. Nothing could be worse than God wanting to meet you. She was far too interested in the warm palm that was sitting on her ribs.

"I met your Dad as well" he responded. Immediately Chloe felt tears spring to her eyes and her body relaxed. Of course he did, just like Amenediel had too. He wouldn't say that just to please or appease her. "He told me to tell you he loves you and he said he is still looking after his precious apple blossom in his own way". Chloe's face crumbled and pressing her palms to her cheeks her whole body started shaking. Blindly Lucifer sat up and scooped her up in his arms."I didn't mean to upset you. I thought you'd be happy". Human emotions still confused him and he has so much to learn.

"You haven't and I am" she mumbled into his chest before she swallowed back her sudden emotion. "Dad always said whatever happened to him, with the job being dangerous, he would always find a way to look after me. In his own way. Those were his words. I don't think he called me apple blossom after I was about 6". She let out a watery laugh as his arms tightened around her shoulders. Now she knew he had met him. _Apple blossom._ He could never have known that.

"And he knows I love you with all my stone cold heart and I will look after you" Lucifer stated. Maybe that was it. Maybe that was one of the reasons her Dad had been so accepting of him. She had the devil on her side.

Chloe laughed before it dissolved into a puff of air as he grabbed her left thigh and hiked her properly onto his lap. "Did you hear me trying to communicate with you?" she asked, going for the collar of his purple shirt and forgetting her temporary breakdown.

"I did hear you" he replied, shifting her so she was tighter against him even more and diving for her neck again as his body started to gently hum at the presence of her warmth. "It was like... some of it was like radio static. I caught some of it though. That disc was a good idea, no?"

"Perfect idea" she sighed, almost forgetting what it had been like these past weeks to be like this, kissing him, holding him. "What did you get?"

"Enough to understand what you were up to" he replied, mouth still roaming wherever he could uncover skin. "Firearms training, cheesecake with Daniel and I miss you..."

"I did miss you and I will keep telling you that until you believe me" Chloe replied, letting him take off her shirt from her shoulders before it was flung to the floor. Something in the back of her mind registered her mismatched underwear. Oh well...It wasn't as though she had been expecting him, not that he cared.

"I know you did and I you, Detect..." The word was lost as she slid a hand between the two of them, rubbing the front of his zipper and letting out a moan of appreciation as to what she found.

"It helped me" she offered. Her lips were on his neck now; hair draped over his face, feeling how warm she was. "Until Raphie took it off me..." Chloe offered casually, shifting to his jaw, feeling a few days stubble under her lips.

"Bloody do gooder that brother of mine" he muttered, popping the button on her jeans hearing her laugh somewhere near his ear. She wasn't going to ruin the moment by telling him she was starting to slip again. Maybe she might never need to.

Whilst one reunion was going on in one part of town, and rather well if the parties might say so, the other one was, well, at best interesting and Amenediel was tense.

"You have to go and rule Hell?" Linda stammered, trying to keep her voice level and calm but inside there was such a mix of anger and fear that she did not know where one started and the other ended. "Now I know why Lucifer railed against his father so much", she added. A lot made sense these past weeks as she had spent more and more time with Chloe and more and more time understanding how the other woman truly felt.

"Not rule" Amenediel clarified as he sat straight backed on a single dining chair wondering if he was welcome. She had hugged him when she answered the door but their son was clearly unsure, looking at him like some kind of stranger. "Luci still does that, but I have to guard it for him".

"Until you repent..." Linda responded, pacing the floor now with Charlie asleep on her shoulder. She had still not handed him to his father and Amenediel was not convinced he could ask even though the boy had smiled at him eventually and babbled nonsense.

"I have repented". The pain in the angel's voice was obvious. "I need to apologise to Chloe again and again and if she will see it in her heart to forgive me but I have to win back my father's trust too". He swallowed, watching her spinning on her heels. "Yours as well".

"Why did you do it?!" Linda sighed heavily, sitting down with an exasperated thump and rearranging her son on her knee. "Why did you even think of it?!"

"Because I thought it was what Father wanted" Amenediel responded, rubbing his palms over his face, so frustrated and angry with himself. "Luci had to go back to Hell and I thought it was the only way – to separate him from Chloe so he would have to leave Earth".

"By getting her and Trixie killed?!" Linda shook her head in despair. Did she know this person at all? Was he so blind as to follow his Father's will, no matter who might get hurt in the process?

"I am no son to my father and I am no father to Charlie" he said. "That's why he took my wings away. Linda I am truly sorry. For it all. It was so very, very wrong". He saw her expression harden even more. "I don't when I am meant to go". He shook his head, arms aching to hold the child who was starting to stir. "Luci seems to think he had a way around it and I want to be here for Charlie...and for you", he added, wondering how that would be taken and he did see a twitch on her face.

"And he hasn't sought to share this information yet?" Linda asked, seeing him shake his head. Lucifer had been quiet on their return at best. "Well, its time he did". She got up and passed the now wide awake child to his father at last. It was like he was home. He understood Luci'ss need now than ever before.

Chloe had left the Devil himself in an extra long shower and was tidying downstairs making it look like they at least just hadn't had sex on the couch, but a knock on the door disturbed her. She frowned and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear; its damp ends wrapped up in a bun. She wasn't expecting any parcels and normally she would be in the station or on the road now. Her cell had also been silent for a while so it wouldn't be Dan or work; both of them would have called first. Hoping she didn't look as ravaged as she felt, Chloe opened the door finding Linda and a contrite looking Amenediel standing behind her with Charlie in his arms.

"Is he here?" Linda asked, in no mood for pleasantries but seeing a brief look of confusion on the Detective's face.

"Sorry" Amenediel stepped in, cautious as to how his presence might be taken. "Chloe, is Luci here? We need to speak to him if you don't mind?"

"He is" she replied, opening the door further to let them in but her voice was tight. Chloe gestured towards the couch, not thinking, before she shot upstairs to find Lucifer who followed her back downstairs, dressed but hair still soaking from the shower. Under some duress he had outlined his plan; his 'loophole' as the two couples sat in some kind of summit.

"Father never said _how_ I was to rule," he started, sitting elbows on his knees and tapping his fingertips together. Chloe was beside him, her hand on his back, over where his wing scars once stood. "He never said what I was to actually do with you and Michael. Just that you two would act as my guardians and spend a sentence in Hell. As far as I am concerned, Michael can stay in Hell until kingdom come." He saw his brother nod. Amenediel could not disagree with that regardless. "I couldn't give a toss about him but I have a nephew who should have a father. So I can do with you brother what I wish".

Amenediel nodded, unsure what his brother's words truly meant. They had such fights, even not so long ago, and been so much at odds that Luci could well exact all kinds upon him with that level of control. His honour, however, meant that Amenediel would take whatever was handed to him.

Lucifer swallowed, feeling Chloe's hand washing up and down his back and it was soothing him. "I wish to join Chloe full time at work if she will have me". He took her spare hand and threw a glance at her. It was something they had not talked about but Chloe was finding she was not immediately adverse to the idea, subject to a few conditions of course. "I also need someone to oversee Lux whilst I am otherwise engaged".

"What about Maze?" Linda asked.

"She will be free to do as she wishes and I am going to release her from her subservience to me unless she wishes to stay that way" Lucifer began. "All decisions will still be made by me mark my words, but you brother well, frankly, you need a job". Amenediel smiled. He had a point. "The way I see it is you will be assisting me in taking care of Lux so I will be able to work as Father wants me to do up here and down there too".

"But, what about Hell?" Amenediel asked. "That was my sentence".

"What was your personal Hell when you first arrived?" Lucifer asked, Chloe wondering where he was going with this.

"Humanity, your excess, Lux...Oh..." Amenediel responded, until a thought struck. "But, well, humanity does not grate on me as much as it did. I have seen its worthiness, Luci". He shook his head. "I don't think this will work"

"And Hell is your Hell", Lucifer stated. Stated the obvious actually. Amenediel nodded cautiously. _Hell is my Hell. **Any** time I spend there will feel like...well, Hell and may be punishment enough. _"Father and I talked a lot whilst I was there. He has fully restored my powers. He endorses it" Lucifer concluded.

"What?" It was the first word Chloe had said since the other couple had arrived.

"In a way. Look", Lucifer started quickly before she could ask more. "He realises what I can do here, you and Michael have been sentenced to be guardians of Hell under my command but Father never said to me how I would do that. As long as I well, behave myself, I will have that omnipotent power. I am restricting Michael to Hell, you will look after Lux for me and travel to Hell with me where you will spend a portion of that time carrying out my wishes there and you will then return with me here. Here I can work with Chloe, you can provide for your son and seek forgiveness from all you need to here too".

"I have to ask one thing first" Amenediel started, looking at Chloe who was feeling more uncomfortable as each second went by. He addressed the woman to Lucifer's side. "Chloe?" Her head shot up. "Can you forgive me for bringing Malcolm back? If you can't my obligation is that I go to Hell permanently to repent regardless of Luci's plan".

Chloe sighed. She could forgive him. One day but certainly not now. She chose her words carefully. "Charlie needs his father. I know what it's like to bring up a child virtually on my own". She looked at Linda who nodded carefully. She knew where Chloe was going with this. "We can work at it, yes?"

After reaching some kind of agreement, Chloe and Lucifer were left alone. She still had her doubts that his plan would work. "Can you do it?" she asked him the second she shut the door. He was standing in the kitchen, putting coffee grounds into cups for them.

"Behave myself?" he asked, wearing what was definitely a devilish smile. Chloe nodded and walked to his side, leaning on the work top. "I want to" he continued. That was the first place to start, wasn't it? "And you are going to keep me to my best behaviour aren't you?" Yes that smile was back as his eyes flashed scarlet again for a brief second. Chloe smiled and shook her head. He was actually getting a kick out of this, that was clear. "Detective" he started, facing her properly. "Being with you, my sanctimonious brother having to ask me every time he makes a decision about Lux whilst I simply enjoy it, Michael jammed in Hell. Of course. I am doing all Dad wanted, but yes I do appreciate its open to interpretation but you know me, Detective...

"And you are going to come out on top again, right?" she asked. Chloe had stepped closer now and pressed a kiss to his bicep. "And before you say it, and I know you never mentioned it to me, but I do want you to work with me full time. I would like that very much". She let herself be pulled into his arms. "I am just wary that's all. I still don't understand all of this celestial business or just how bad your relationship with your father actually is".

"It's the only way for us all to have what we want, Detective" he responded, pressing a kiss to her hairline. "You, me. Linda, Amenediel, Charlie. Even Maze she is free to go where she likes now and Michael is blind in his devotion to father. Just like Amenediel used to be. In fact he is worse than Amenediel". She nuzzled closer. "Chloe, I know my brother. He knows how much of a grave error he made and as I said, neither of us care".

"How can you forgive Amenediel so easily?" she asked.

"Oh I haven't", he replied. Trying to separate him deliberately from the Detective and the spawn? No certainly not. "Call it me being subtle for a change. He can go down there full time if he wants, but he too is torn, just like I was". Chloe nodded carefully. She was really not sure what to say any more. "Come on," he continued. "You need to go back to work and I need to collect your offspring for our talk".

In truth, Chloe was right to be wary he knew that, mulling the plan over as he drove to the school. It was a risk and undoubtedly his father would find some way to interfere but there was no other way as far as he saw it. He was probably going to be tested for the rest of his unnatural life so what was another one? Was his father giving him so much rope that he might just hang himself? Or was this one last lesson? If it was it would be truly worth it. How he had changed.

Pulling up outside the school, Lucifer breathed and got out, patting his pocket for cigarettes he could not find. Instead, he just stood by the car waiting for her offspring. He didn't know much about their argument but it had to be made right.

He saw the child before she saw him, searching the playground for her Dad but finding him absent. "Beatrice! Over here!" Lucifer shouted, his voice booming over the sounds of chatty children and other greetings.

The young girl's eyes met his and she walked carefully to him, saying goodbye to another child who Lucifer didn't recognise. She arrived a few feet in front of him, Lucifer expecting one of her usual flying tackles, but there was nothing but an apprehension was screaming at him. He understood why, of course he did. "Your Hug Meter has run dry after all child" he offered as Trixie looked up at him. She was unsure, of course she was. As she took a tentative step closer, Lucifer could see she was wearing the lightning bolt necklace, put on in fury to defy her mother although he didn't know that right now. For a second he wondered if the Douche knew where she got it from.

It was as though time stopped still until maybe no more than thirty seconds later, he felt her arms go around his waist and hug him tight. Lucifer let out the breath he had been holding since walked across the playground to him. "Is Mom here?" she asked as his hands settled on her shoulders, feeling more comfortable and letting a quasi-hug slip out.

"No child" he replied, relieved as he seemed to see trust in her eyes. "She is at work. You and I are going to have a little chat". He smiled awkwardly at two Moms who passed them by watched them together, looking like father and daughter.

"About me shouting at Mom?" Trixie asked. In truth, whilst she could not place the feeling, she felt terrible. She loved her Mom and shouting was wrong; she knew that but she had not been able to stop herself.

"Yes, urchin. About you shouting at your mother unnecessarily and blaming her for something I did", Lucifer began. "You owe your mother an apology, now come on, get in. Strawberry milkshakes are waiting".


	49. Chapter 49

"Maze?! What's going on?!"

Lucifer's question was curious and ever so slightly annoyed, finding the demon spread out on Chloe's couch with something inane on the television. His charge for the afternoon - Trixie - ducked past him, throwing her school bag down on the floor before she landed with an enthusiastic bump next to Maze.

"Hey small human, how was school?" the demon smiled, ignoring her master and addressing the child that had flopped down beside her; brought home after what had been a rather good chat about a certain mother and Detective even if Lucifer would say so himself.

"It was cool, as school goes", Trixie responded with a shrug, settling in.

"Maze?" Lucifer asked again, eyes flying around the room for Chloe or worst of all, his father if the demon was here and not at Lux. He stood behind the pair at the back of the couch, looming over them with a fury simmering under his skin that so easily could turn at Maze disobeying him; but not in front of the child no matter how casual she had been at seeing the Devil underneath.

"Chill" Maze replied simply, throwing a brief glance up at him before she turned back to the television. "Amenediel turned up at Lux and so I left him on guard duty".

Lucifer nodded. At least his Father was not let loose on Los Angeles and that was slightly better than him being here. In reality his brother and father probably had a lot to talk about. "Detective?!" he shouted, going to walk towards the stairs to find her, assuming she was probably taking a shower after work.

"You'll have to yell louder than that" Maze responded, still staring at the screen. "Your precious Detective isn't back from the precinct yet".

"Really?" Lucifer replied, looking at his watch as he turned back. It was gone six. Well past six in fact. She should be back by now and immediately that horrible feeling – that one that made him check the locks on the doors and windows so many times over - welled up in his stomach. Maze just nodded; the child sliding further under the demon's arm to cuddle up. Lucifer sighed, walking to the kitchen, and fished his phone out of his pocket, speed dialling Chloe but growling in frustration when heard the automated _'you have reached the voicemail of ..._" He frowned and tried Ella, who answered in two rings. "Lucifer!" she squealed, the noise of the station clearly behind her. "Decker said you were back!"

"Miss Lopez" he breathed as he started to pace, hoping the child was not picking up on his anxiety. "One does not suppose you have seen the Detective?"

"Yeah" Ella replied breezily. "She left just after she came back from lunch as she got a call." She paused, quickly glancing at the clock on the lab wall. "Actually that was a long time ago...It was about half two she left..."

"Where was the body?" he asked urgently, tapping his pocket for the keys to the corvette even though he had only put them in there a minute ago.

"_Bodies_. Two..." Ella responded half distracted by the ping of an email on her laptop. "The golf course at up at Rancho Park". Lucifer replied with his thanks, quickly killing the call and going back to the demon and the urchin.

"Right you two, up you pop! Road trip time" he demanded, clapping his hands together urgently.

"What?" Maze scowled at him. She was not for getting up. Not for a wild goose chase for Decker who would be perfectly alright. This was getting pathetic! "Lucifer..." Maze continued hearing him rumbling in annoyance, the pair turning properly to face him. "She's gonna kill you acting like the clingy boyfriend". Trixie was just looking at him with a wide smile, ever so enthusiastic to have the Devil in her mother's life.

Lucifer huffed. "Right if I am getting no help from you two. Maze look after the urchin. Feed her and make sure she starts her homework", he ordered before he shot out.

"Whatever Lucifer!" She dismissed him with an almost regal wave of her hand. _Dumbass is whipped. Make sure she starts her homework! Pft...!_

He wandered up the path of the golf club. He hadn't driven in the end. Devil Air was far more efficient a mode of transport in evening Los Angeles traffic and it had only taken a minute or two to get to the golf club from the alley he had chosen for flight. A string of uniform officers were standing where a blue tent covered what he assumed was a body and thirty yards to the side another. He saw Chloe easily, a little further on chatting away and taking notes. He also found her car – he could not miss the huge SUV parked just inside the gates- and leant against it until some minutes later she spotted him and half walked-half ran down the concrete path. "Lucifer?" she asked very pleased to see him. After today she was ready to leave, finally go home and his presence was a very nice surprise.

"You didn't answer your phone" he offered. It could have been accusatory but Chloe heard nothing but concern in his voice as he continued to lean on the vehicle.

"I know. There's no signal where the body was". She turned the phone over to him, showing him there was barely one bar even now. "Why? What's happened?" Lucifer shook his head quickly. "Did you think something had happened to me?" she asked, keeping her voice low, but he just shrugged like a reluctant child who had been found out.

"Luce," she started, standing a step closer, gently sliding her hand up his arm and making sure nobody could see them. "I do understand why you the first thing you thought about was that something might have happened to me but I'm fine" she smiled. "This just took longer than we thought. Half the club needed interviewing. It was two employees; the bodies". She gestured behind herself as he sighed again, shoving his hands in his pockets. "So much has happened Luce. I get it why you feel twitchy. I really do". She took his hand out of his pocket and squeezed. "Come on. Do you have to stay at Lux tonight?"

"My Dad's there. I should", he replied, seeing her nod in acceptance. "But would you and the urchin consent to come over to Lux tomorrow and stay? We can dance our night away and we can so something nice on Sunday with the offspring?" _Hopefully when he's buggered off._

"To meet him?" she asked, really rather it being at Lux than at her house as she had suggested before. A strange curiosity was getting the better of her but he nodded. "I suppose we best tell Trix then". He smiled and opened the driver's door for her. "Luce?" she asked as they settled down. "Are you going to tell your Dad how you are going to arrange Amenediel's punishment? You should, really..."

"I know I should Detective," he replied, "but..."

"No buts" she responded firmly. "Luce he has to know what you intend to do. Do you want him to just find some way to send you back down there?"

"That was harsh Detective" he responded, hearing the engine roar into life but she did not otherwise move.

"No not harsh" she said, shaking her head. "He's your Dad; he asked you do something that will in the long term keep us together. You want that don't you?" She put her hand on his arm, deliberately so he would look her in the eye. "I understand why you are, well, reluctant to do anything for him but this isn't about your Dad, this is about _us_".

"I do appreciate that my love" Lucifer noted. "It's just difficult". _To let myself believe I can be good enough for you. Let the fear go._

"So tomorrow we tell him about the plan. The proper plan. Together", Chloe insisted before a thought struck her. "Where's your car?" she asked, realising he was sitting quite happily the passenger seat. Lucifer smiled, simply making a flapping gesture with his hands. "Oh" Chloe smiled, feeling a little embarrassed she didn't think of that. "Can I drop you back at Lux then?" she asked.

"You can do anything you like Detective", he replied, gently pulling her chin so he could kiss her; just a peck and once he was sure no-one was looking. "But for now, yes, Lux it is".

It felt strange with him not in her bed that night and as soon as Chloe was sure Trixie was asleep she called him. Instead, lying back on her pillows and bundled up to her neck in her duvet, she got his voicemail and her heart sunk. _"__Er...Hi" she started sweetly. "I...erm, just wanted to say goodnight and...well, I hope it's all okay with your Dad. Trix is fine. We talked. She apologised to me and I apologised to her. I deserved it to be honest, but thank you for speaking to her. You didn't have to. Anyway, no need to call me back. We'll be at Lux about half eleven tomorrow, unless you want us there earlier or later. Let me know. I love you. Sleep well..."_

Lucifer smiled as he listened to her message. He had been accommodating his father in the guest room; the furthest guest room away from his own bedroom that he could think of and missed her call. That was over an hour ago but he did fire off a quick text to confirm that half past eleven was perfect. She would be well and truly asleep by now he hoped so instead he and Maze were working their way through a bottle of Chateau Lafite.

"So I can go if I want or stay if I want?" Maze asked. She was not entirely sure how to take this new development of being released by him to choose her fate and the prospect confused and exhilarated her in one breath.

"That's my offer, Mazikeen" he said, tipping the last of his glass down this throat before he leant forward, eyes shining. "Come on! What do you think? We can have all we want on earth and you can have a hit of Hell whenever you like. Satisfy your desires!"

Maze frowned. It would work; it could work, but did she want it? She was so unsettled. Eve was gone to Heaven again and she had wonderful friends here but she missed her home. Maybe it could. Have a hit of Hell, just like he said. "_You_ really want this don't you? A proper life amongst these humans?" she asked although she knew the answer already. Lucifer nodded, leaning over and refilling her glass and his. "My whole purpose in existing is to serve you", she began with a loud sigh, slumping further down into the burnt orange couch. "That's all that demons are good for".

"Not you Mazey", he replied, trying to encourage her. "I will need my best bodyguard in Hell but up here? Your life is yours and above it all you are my friend, my one loyal friend and well, I am giving you the choice to do what you wish". He paused. "We have been through so much Mazey and I will miss you if you decide you want me to just take you back..."

"You are not the being you were Lucifer" Maze mused. One day long ago she wished for the flames in his eyes, but she had changed too. Maze nodded and tipped her glass towards him in a toast. "To safe trips and satisfying our desires!"

Chloe actually felt relatively calm on the drive to Lux with Trixie chattering beside her about meeting Lucifer's Dad _at last_ and overnight bags packed for them both on the back seat. Lucifer had already told her that he would play at Lux tonight and she was looking forward to that. She had not heard him playing the piano for too long and as they crawled through the traffic her daughter's innocent enthusiasm was providing an accompaniment to the beeps of the impatient drivers as she tried to distract herself. Unlike her daughter, Chloe was not however looking forward to meeting his dad. She refused to refer to him as God. She had so much to say to him and most of it was uncomplimentary that she wondered if she might just muck this up for him if she let her mouth away with itself. "Baby will you stay downstairs with Maze while I see Lucifer and his Dad? Just for a while?" she asked as they moved through a green light. Her daughter just nodded.

So, leaving the child downstairs with Maze who did nothing but set Chloe on edge with the series of smirks she was giving her, the Detective started on her journey to the penthouse floor. As she stood in the lift as it slowly crept up, Chloe watched the numbers of the floors tick up and it felt as though each one was taking a lifetime to switch to the next. Carefully she rocked on her feet, wiggling her toes in the confines of her boots in some kind of attempt to root herself to the ground. She considered she had to be careful after all; the power this man seemed to have and she did not want to do anything that might affect Lucifer, even if it meant reeling in her planned interrogation. She could weed answers out of murderers after all and this was Lucifer's _Dad_. He was only a parent like her; or that's how she was making herself feel better about this whole thing before she tried to take a swing at him. Chloe was really not sure which road she might find herself on.

The lift door pinged open and she was greeted with an empty penthouse. Slightly confused Chloe stepped out, almost to the couches, when Lucifer appeared from the balcony. He was seeping that aura of confidence that she saw long ago every day in Lux, except it was not reflected in his eyes. "Hi" she squeaked, still wondering where his Dad was. The words 'where is he?' were mouthed at him and Lucifer gestured behind himself at the seemingly empty balcony.

He smiled and walked across to her, hands placed on her upper arms. "Okay?"

"Think so", she replied; kissing him just briefly and painting on a smile. Lucifer turned and she felt his hand go on the base of her spine.

"Dad?" Lucifer asked. Chloe swallowed as she heard feet walking across the stone floor and right in front of her eyes, God appeared looking, well like an older Amenediel. _No!_ _Not God! Lucifer's Dad! Lucifer's Dad! _For a second she wondered why she should be overwhelmed by it all standing in front of a being she didn't believe in until she knew who Lucifer was. She supposed it was perfectly normal to be having a bit of a panic about it though.

The voice of the Devil beside her infiltrated her inner monologue as his palm flexed on her back. "Dad, this is the Detective. This is Chloe. Chloe, my Dad"

His father took several steps forward into the penthouse, as Lucifer gently rubbed her back, unsure himself about how she may react. He was ready, to be honest, to whisk her away from him if it became too much for her. "It is such a pleasure to meet you, my miracle". God stretched out a hand to her, but she did not take it.

Chloe swallowed, biting back was she was originally going to say as something she could not place came over her. All she could feel was Lucifer's hand pressed into the base of her spine, still trying to push her towards his father but her feet were stuck to the floor. "Detective?" he offered. "Chloe?"

She raised her chin finally finding her voice as at last the strange feeling that overcame her dissipated. "I don't know what to say to you. Where to start", she enunciated but her tone was hard. She actually had a thousand things to say but they were all josting for space so she did not know which one may come out first.

"Chloe..." She knew perfectly well Lucifer was trying to warn her; the timbre of his voice said it all, but right at that second she was utterly deaf to it.

"Have you seen the burns on his skin?" she pressed, jaw setting and a devil worthy fire starting to light in her chest. That was the one thing that she always returned to as it always churned in her mind, the _pain_ he must have been in for fuck knows how long. The skin she had been so frightened of; it angered her the most as it was that which caused her eyes to divert from him when all he needed was her support.

His father shook his head; slightly taken aback by the steel he saw in her eyes but he really should have known better. She was his Miracle after all; he made her that way. "Chloe" he started, briefly glancing at Lucifer. "My son and I have spoken at length these past few days..."

"I don't care about the past few days" she started, stepping away from Lucifer. He let her get on with it, recognising now she had to get it out. "I care about all of those _millennia_ he was exiled, lonely, vulnerable and feeling as though his own father treated him like _shit _because he wanted to be his own person; because he dared to want to be loved!" Chloe breathed in as she straightened her shoulders. "Your son, feeling as though he had to take responsibility and fix every evil that humanity spewed up!" She was a foot away from 'God' now and the apprehension she felt in the lift had been squashed down by a fierce anger.

"Samael?" His father raised his eyes to Lucifer, who was torn between stepping in or just letting her get on with it still. The latter won. This would be interesting to say the least and Lucifer could not deny he felt a stab of amusement at the scenario unfolding out in front of him. He was still there, under the surface, the devilish side and how he loved a furious, ranting Detective. Always had done and he pushed away a smile.

"You want me to stop her, father?" Lucifer asked, trying to keep the mischief out of his voice. "I can't influence her to do _anything_. You know that very well".

Chloe was on a roll now, vaguely hearing Lucifer's words. "I want you go away and leave us alone but, but... he is your son and I want...I want..." As she looked closer at his father, she was starting to flounder as she knew she was going to cry if she said what she planned to but she ploughed on. "I want Luce to be happy, settled and I don't want us to be spending the rest of our lives together waiting for it all to go to shit again because he continues to punish himself!" She swallowed, a brief thought interfering that she had sworn at God; lost her temper at meeting her lover's parent for the first time.

"You love my son" his father stated blandly.

"I do. Of my own free will. I do love him. All sides of him" she added carefully, feeling Lucifer stand directly behind her again, hands gently laid on her hips. He knew perfectly well why Chloe had mentioned it being of her 'own free will'. It reminded him of too many conversations and arguments in the past and he was silently pleased.

"That is good" God replied, carefully nodding. "Chloe, can we sit and speak?" She shrugged her shoulders but walked with Lucifer to sit down; his father opposite them. "I had Amenediel bless your mother for a purpose" God began, gently pressing his hands together.

"I know that part and the part about you putting me in his path" Chloe replied before a thought struck. "Wait...was Delilah's death planned?" Beside her she felt Lucifer tense up. They had never talked about this one true human friend he had before Chloe met him but she knew what she had meant to him.

"Delilah's soul had lessons to learn and will continue to do so. It had learned all it could on this plane and her life was only intended to be short", God responded but Chloe squinted at him. "Whilst I, yes, rather manufactured you meeting in Delilah's passing, I did not interfere to such a length that I take away from you any of the free will that my son fights so hard for. That dear girl's death was the last chess piece, but after that? No..."

"So why is she is immune to me?" Lucifer asked.

God ducked his head. "That son is my case in point. Your birth was touched by heavenly influence, Chloe" he began, his voice smooth and calm. "You my son are desire and divinity intertwined with each other. That was how Chloe was created. The influence I gave your conception through Amenediel and your parent's overwhelming desire for a child combined. I created you for a purpose Chloe - to bless your parents as I saw their immense pain and for my son to find his way through you if he chose it".

Lucifer shook his head. He was ready, at last, to let go of the pain and it had only been because of his feelings towards his Detective although perhaps more so, hers of him.

"I felt it was time" God continued. "You Samuel, you had to let down the walls you had created around you, work to gain Chloe's trust and faith in you and by doing that you can find the good path again and learn from her. Having you being able to just dig out her wants and needs by a look in the eyes would simply not do". Chloe tried not to laugh with the incredulity of it all; of how just _important_ she seemed to be for him. "I cannot override your free will Chloe" God continued. "In you, I have taken away my sons ability to manipulate you or to feed your desires so he has to work for them".

"The mojo doesn't work..." Chloe muttered, staring at her and Lucifer's intertwined hands.

"It is twofold, my dear. My son allows himself to be vulnerable around you because he has learnt to trust you and you have learned to trust him. _That_ was my plan; to make my son realise again his origins and strike down the walls he has built". The pair nodded as his words settled in. "Son, you know I wish to have you return to the fold".

Chloe's head shot around to Lucifer. He had not told her that part and she stared at his father. "Chloe, I wish my son happiness and I know you don't believe me but it is true. I created you to show him the right way but you cannot do that unless he wishes to do it himself and make that choice. Free will, freedom of choice, yes?" Chloe licked her lips, wondering what to say; if she should agree. "I was angry with you son and you needed to learn lessons. That anger has died because you have shown me what you can be again. The humanity you surround yourself with now has tempered you and yet other aspects of humanity have taken you as a scapegoat for all things evil and I did not intend that. The use of free will was not necessarily for good but you my son, were there, strong enough to punish it, not be it..."

Lucifer nodded and Chloe caught his eye. "Then why didn't you tell me that...?" he muttered, feeling anger rise in his middle. This could have been resolved long ago, but then again, he may never have met Chloe if he had.

"I..." God started before he hesitated to find the right words. "Call us too similar my son".

"So you are just a vulnerable a parent as the rest of us then?!" Chloe asked. Maybe he wasn't as arrogant as Lucifer tried to make out. Family relationships were complicated.

God laughed and shook his head. "Stubborn", he responded. "Look, son, Chloe is...I do not want to call her a gift but to put it bluntly her connection to you is the end of your path, the one you started on with Delilah". Chloe turned and smiled at Lucifer grabbing tight onto his hand again. The devil however, was still hesitant. "Samael, you could have stayed in Hell".

"But I am pulled back to earth. Freely. Every time" Lucifer responded starting to understand the connection and staring at Chloe. "Pulled back to where I wish to be every time".

"It was only here, amongst these humans that you could find your way Samael" God replied. "Have the influence of good upon you. Well, the good of one particular human". He nodded towards Chloe.

"What about Amenediel?" she asked.

"I know Samael will have found a way through the sentence I imposed, Chloe and Amenediel confirmed to me just his afternoon". So he knew already. "My son is exceptionally clever too and I could have predicted it as night runs into day". He took a breath as Lucifer just shrugged at her. Least he didn't have to explain himself. "I am willing to allow it because Amenediel did something particularly grave in freeing the soul from Hell. He needs to seek my forgiveness and yours too Chloe, but I understand why Lucifer wishes to see right by the doctor and Charlie. It is another step on his oath. For that I will allow it".

"I have not forgiven him father" Lucifer responded, his voice tense.

"I do not expect you to, but you will use your better judgment, am I correct? You have used it; looked at the bigger picture rather than not reaching beyond the end of your nose as you have done so many times before son". Chloe nodded as she heard Lucifer breath in and out. He was trying to hold his tongue, she could tell. Yes, here was another test, just worded a different way. Still though, this was more about Linda and Charlie than him. More about him and Chloe than his own pride and he had to let it go. "Son", God started. "I would like to hear you play the piano".

"With God's gift?!" he asked sarcastically.

"Luce..." Chloe replied, before she dug her nails into the flesh of his hand and it hurt. "I would like to hear you play too".

Lucifer nodded reluctantly. "So what happens now Father?" he asked but the question was interrupted by the lift dinging and a dark haired child thundered across the floor to her mother.

"Maze is flirting with the delivery man. It was pukey so I escaped!" Trixie announced flopping down at the Devil's side and leaning heavily on him. It still didn't feel right. Maybe he would get used to it in time given the chance. Chloe was about to scold her for using the word 'flirting' but the child had a question before her mother could open her mouth. "Is this Lucifer's Dad?" Trixie asked, looking the other man up and down as he continued to sit across from them, watching how his son interacted with the girl. He knew who she was already and she was certainly her mother's child.

"Yes child. I am his father", God replied, smiling at her.

"Oh" Trixie started, her face falling. "You hurt Lucifer. _My_ dad says he would never throw me out of his house, whatever I did". Trixie felt Lucifer squeeze her shoulder. It was Mom's signal to shut up but it didn't stop her. "You didn't look after Lucifer like my Dad looks after me. You don't look after him like Lucifer looks after me either" Trixie carried on, leaning in even closer to the Devil.

"I am glad he looks after you Beatrice" God started, smiling at her. The child wore the same face as her mother too. "Tell me child would you let me come and visit you and your mother from time to time? My son, too?"

Trixie looked across to Chloe for her answer. She saw an imperceptible nod and she felt Lucifer's hand on her shoulder again. "Chloe", he started. "Would you allow Beatrice to come down to the bar this evening so she can hear me play too?"

"Of course I will". She was still looking at his Father, sitting between them as a physical barrier. "If Trix desires to she can". The girl was just grinning at him so she had her answer.

Some hours later, Chloe was sitting perched on a chair next to the bar; a soft clear drink in her hand keeping her promise to herself that she would stop, or at least cut back on the alcohol in her promise to the child she would never have. Her eyes were only on one place and he looked _beautiful_ shrouded in the blue of the house lights and utterly lost in the music that was floating effortlessly around the floor. The crowd around him was quiet and just as mesmerised as her, allowing herself to relax with Trix now tucked up in one of the guest rooms for the night with Maze on guard. Chloe felt, rather than saw his father arrive beside her.

"Are you not afraid of me, Chloe?" God asked, sipping on a glass of rich red wine; the best the house could afford and that was saying something. He wanted to speak to her without his son's presence, just to see if there was any influence after all.

"Why should I be?" she replied, still dreamily watching Lucifer but as his father settled beside her she had another question. "Can Lucifer and I be happy?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?" he asked. "I fear it may be".

Chloe smiled. "I am not going to throw your son away like you did, no matter if he makes mistakes" she replied, her tone still very much the same as it was in the penthouse. "He deserves better than to be cast out from _my_ family". She was still not in a forgiving mood towards his father, whoever he was, and she doubted she ever would be. She was about to vent again when two more figures sidled up her. "Ella! Dan?!" The man just gave her an unenthusiastic smile as she looked curiously at him not expecting the presence of her ex-husband tonight.

"She wanted to come and see him" Dan replied, gesturing with a thumb over to the piano as he regarded the tall man beside her. He was really not amused to be dragged to Lux mid date to see his ex-wife's lover. He didn't even know Lucifer was back until Ella told him just a few hours before.

"Sorry" Chloe spluttered coming to her senses. "Ella this is Lucifer's Dad. Ella... Lucifer's Dad." She continued, wondering if he had a _name_. "I work with her. _We_ work with her" Chloe concluded, before a tiny portion of her inner monologue decided to chip in. _Shit! I have just introduced the one person with the deepest religious faith amongst us to God!_

"Elohim. Call me Elohim" his father breathed, stretching out a hand to both Ella and Dan.

"Whoah" Ella started, eyes widening as she shook his hand. "You Morningstars are heavy on the references to religion aren't you?"

"We are Miss Lopez we are" God replied, nodding his head and taking another sip of wine. "We are somewhat".

In her sober state, Chloe hesitated. She actually hadn't mentioned Ella's surname but she could tell the forensic scientist was a little merry so maybe she had missed it. Quickly she introduced Dan properly. "Are you in town for long?" Dan asked, wondering about Lucifer's Dad and just what man had brought him up and turned out a kid like that.

"A day or so" God smiled. "Just to see my sons and then back to work for me!"

"Oh?" Dan responded, nodding his head as he leant against the bar. "So what do you do?"

"Let's just say I manage a large number of people...Isn't that right Chloe?" Could she actually see a sparkle in his eyes? If she could, it unnerved her so she just nodded clearing her throat in the anxiety that had reared itself again at these unexpected introductions. She slid off her seat and left them to it.

A few hours later, Lucifer wandered across the empty penthouse floor, switching off lights and locking the lift. A quick look into the guest room closest to his bedroom found the urchin fast asleep and it made him smile. He did not go near his father's room and as he walked up the steps, he found Chloe asleep too; or at least he thought she was, breathing steadily. He undressed, showered and returned to her side, sitting down on the bed, about to swing his legs in when he heard her move. "I'm sorry Detective. I woke you up" he noted mournfully.

"You didn't" she replied, as he slid into bed and pulled her into his arms. "I wasn't properly asleep". Lucifer nodded satisfied he hadn't disturbed her. "So..." she started. "Do you think this is it?" She had been dying to have a few minutes with him all night from the moment they stepped down into Lux some hours ago. "Do you think he will leave us alone to just get on like we planned?"

Lucifer breathed in and tightening his arm around her. "I hope so".

"So what are we doing tomorrow? Trix has been mithering me to go to hiking somewhere for weeks" Chloe offered but she felt him bristle. "I know it's not your thing. We don't have to. We could go to the beach. A bit further up to the coast or something". She could sense his reluctance but understood why so she decided to leave it. "I know it's been a long day. Let's wait until tomorrow". She planted a kiss on his cheek but her eyes were closing again. Even her touch tonight was not soothing him and whilst sleep took his bed partner quickly that night for most of it Lucifer lay awake. Uncertainty still bloomed in his chest at this mistrust he had of his Father. Lucifer sighed as he felt her shift in her sleep; her palm flexing on his chest.

This time it would be different; this time someone loved him for all he was, accepted him man and devil aside even if she had taken her time about it. He knew he had changed, deep down, or perhaps found what he used to be, more like. She had resurrected him; brought him back to life, a meaningful life and he had to hold tight.

Lucifer shifted his shoulders, trying to push away tense muscles when the black diamond ring, sitting on her left hand caught his eye in the moonlight. He smiled. Oh how he wanted this. Chloe, her urchin, all of these humans, Maze, Lux, the LAPD and a deal well done with his Dad. He could keep himself in line, let go of the past and look to the future and embrace these people around him; people that made him better. No, he could make himself better and free himself.

"Luce?" Her voice was heavy with sleep.

"So sorry my darling". Lucifer replied, snapped out of his melancholy. "I didn't mean to wake you up..."

"S'okay" Chloe replied, bleary eyes looking up at him as she leant on her elbows to face him; examining the pensive expression. "You look like you are thinking too much".

"I suppose I am" Lucifer responded with a sigh. He was tired but she was right. Too many thoughts were running around his head.

"Well don't" she replied, snuggling back down in the warmth, eyes shutting rapidly again. He let out a huff of a laugh but her brief awakening was not enough to calm him. His Father had asked him long ago to his visit to the Silver City if he wanted 'redemption'; if he wanted 'forgiveness'. He _wanted _Chloe and, well yes now he felt ready to be what she needed him to be. He wanted to be redeemed to be the best he could be; to be saved from the evil that was not his.

Sure, he was never going to suddenly become a monk, with or without the Detective in his life, and yes, there was no way he was giving up Lux or all her delights, or alcohol or music, but he could be satisfied with his lot now. There was no harm in a little irresponsibility every once in a while particularly whilst he had the woman in his arms to be irresponsible with. It could be good, he could commit, he could be sensible if he chose because this long road he had been on, well, he had finally found its end and he could release the darkness in his being that had polluted him. He looked down at the crown of dark hair on his shoulder.

"Detective?" Lucifer piped up eventually, his voice filtering through her half –asleep state.

"Hmmm?" Chloe responded, shifting around and the arm that had been laying on his chest, slipped across his middle and held on tight. Lucifer licked his lips. A little bit of irresponsibility with his Detective and he could take on this new test of his Father's with her by his side. _Forever._ Now that would be just...lovely. He must have been lingering in his thoughts again for too long and Chloe raised her head, resting her chin on his chest. "Luce?"

"Sorry" he muttered, blinking as she continued to look at him, eyes half closed and hair wild with sleep. He sighed. "I can't switch off Detective". It was so easy to be straightforward with her about these human feelings, knowing she would understand even if he didn't.

"Can I help with that?" she asked, sliding her palm down his chest, abdomen and underneath the black silk sheet that was bunched up around his waist. He still had a deep frown on his face and Chloe stopped just short of the band of his boxers. "Tell me. You can say what you like to me. Ask me what you like." She placed a kiss to his chest. "I thought you knew that by now".

"Okay..." he replied, but he retrieved her hand rubbing his thumb over the diamond she still wore now housed on the left just for today. "Are you sure?"

Chloe nodded quickly, feeling a little more awake but not much. His face was too grave but she was not dreading what he had to say. "Anything..."

"Okay...if you desire" Lucifer repeated, pressing his lips together, thinking over the consequences of what he was about to ask. He took a deep breath, swirling his thumb on her skin again before the question found its way to his lips.

"Marry me?"

FIN

**Aannnnnnddd breathe...that's it, over! Can I just say 'thank you' again to everyone who has read and commented on this fic. I am so grateful for your thoughts and sticking with this long ass story! I hope you all enjoyed it. **


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